


Won't Let You Reach

by mickytaka558



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-24
Updated: 2016-03-28
Packaged: 2018-04-23 06:07:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 8
Words: 48,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4865897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mickytaka558/pseuds/mickytaka558
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I'm Kageyama Tobio from Akiyama Elementary. I've been playing volleyball since my second year there. I look forward to working with you."</p><p>It all starts with those words; a simple presentation that every person who wants to join the volleyball club of Kitagawa Daiichi must say in order to officially become a part of the team. It is a presentation, a way of letting the others know who they're dealing with.</p><p>That day, Tooru has a bad feeling, the kind of bad feeling he had when he first played against Shiratorizawa; when he realized he wasn't going to be enough to beat them but was forced to deal with them despite it all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Of Geniuses and Bad Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first-year has got the one thing that Tooru wants and has always wanted to have more than anything, but lacks and has no way of getting it, no matter how much he tries: raw, natural talent.
> 
> Kageyama Tobio is a genius. A prodigy.
> 
> And Tooru is not.
> 
> It is a situation as simple as that.

"I'm Kageyama Tobio from Akiyama Elementary. I've been playing volleyball since my second year there. I look forward to working with you."

It all starts with those words; a simple presentation that every person who wants to join the volleyball club of Kitagawa Daiichi must say in order to officially become a part of the team. It is a presentation, a way of letting the others know who they're dealing with.

That day, Tooru has a bad feeling, the kind of bad feeling he had when he first played against Shiratorizawa; when he realized he wasn't going to be enough to beat them but was forced to deal with them despite it all.

***

It only takes a couple of days after that for every single member of the club, as well as the coaches, managers and assistants, to realize the new first-year entry is one of those people who possesses a bottomless talent in volleyball within his muscles and bones. So rare and so precious...

In the beginning, when the new entries have not picked their roles yet, they take their time to observe him carefully: his basics are amazing and with the tips the coach has started to give to him from time to time, it is clear it is not going to take too long to develop his skills to near perfection. He's a fast and eager learner but is also different from any other player: his sense of things is overwhelmingly spectacular. Most prominently is how utterly happy he is whenever his hands get to touch the ball, and, along with that, the massive difference between others' skills at handling the ball and his own.

And right now, as he watches him move between his teammates like it's something he was born to do, Tooru understands; because he knows. He knows this particular kind of people.

The particular kind of people that makes him want to _throw up_.

There are things in which Tobio is similar to him, like his desperate hunger for victory, the strong will to improve everything he's already capable of, and an even stronger will to learn what he still is not, but there is also _one_ single difference, so small and yet so big, that makes the two boys completely different from each other, almost __immeasurable_ _.

The first year has got the _one_ thing that Tooru wants and has always wanted to have more than anything, but lacks and has no way of getting it, no matter how much he tries: raw, _natural_ talent.

Kageyama Tobio is a _genius_. A prodigy.

And Tooru is not.

It is a situation as simple as that.

No one doubts that, in this very moment, the third-year captain is indeed the best player inside of the gym they are training at; he has been blessed with more athletic skill than most people, and he decided to spend it all on volleyball as soon as he started with his school career - the progress he has made ever since he entered junior high is outstanding for a young player like him, especially because his development is fast (not fast like a prodigy's, Tooru finds out).

However, all of what he is capable of hasn't come without a price to pay: long hours of practice, several minor injuries (his hands still bear the scars and his arms constantly have purple bruising the sensitive skin) and lots of hard work are constantly needed to make him maintain the level he's at at the moment.

And now, this first year kid is here, showing what he plays like – so fluent and eager, as if it was as simple as breathing - right in front of him, ready to take everything he has, still is working so hard for at any time. He doesn't look like he has that particular intent, but Tooru knows too well he __does_ _ ; the hunger for progress and the burning desire to get to the top is going to create it and make it grow, sooner or later.

Because Tobio is one of _them after all_.

He hates his kind with all his might. If he only could, he would look around the world for every single volleyball prodigy and reach out to them to break their hands and legs so bad they would not be able to move, to play... To humiliate him. He would like to destroy them with his _common_ hands, _common_ strength, _common_ skills...

Tobio is aiming at him, at his spot, and if he keeps up with the frantic pace he has shown the first day of practice, then he is going to reach him soon. Tooru knows; Tobio is going to turn into a threat without even working half as much as _he_ has for all these years... It pisses him off to no end;

because it's not fair.

Tooru shakes his head.

__'Come on, calm down. He's just a first year; there's no way he'll overcome you so easily.'_ _

However, as high as the older setter gets, and as much as he tries to calm down his thoughts, his worries - the awareness of the almost certain situation is always there. And he knows he is just lying to himself. The boy he is watching is becoming stronger with every move he makes, and he's coming for him _so_ fast, and he knows that, soon enough, he won't be able to run away anymore, because it's going to be __him_ _ _the one who is going to_ hopelessly try to chase him down.

"He's capable of the basics of all positions but, in the end, I bet he'll be a setter," the coaches say, and every time it doesn't fail to reach the third-year's ears. And every time it makes him shiver. He feels a strong pain in his chest grow, spread all the way down his spine and to his knees, making them tremble. Anger starts to get to him.

Why is the damn kid already so close? He doesn't want him anywhere near... Not in such an easy way. He can't allow him.

He is afraid. And the fear can bee seen in his eyes, though everyone is just too dumb to understand and make it stop. Sometimes Tooru wonders if anyone would stop all of this for him.

__'That brat.'_ _

He doesn't want to let go of his spot, his captain title, the role of the setter he loves so much, so he makes a decision: from now on, he will practice harder, push himself further. And get away from him. Get away from Kageyama Tobio.

His eyes never leave the boy, who is now tossing for one of his teammates in the small match they have organized to test the new entries' skills.

He is watching it. He is observing every little detail of it: the way the boy sends the ball to the spiker, the way it reaches his hand and hits the floor on the other side of the net, giving the team a point... The smile on the young prodigy's lips and the spark of determination in his eyes-

Tooru __despises_ _ all of it.

"Nice toss, Kageyama!"

"Keep it up!"

Tooru feels something breaking inside of him, the shattering sound echoes in his ears, even though nobody else can hear it. But he does. He hears it loud and clear. And he realizes that, no matter how much he is going to try to get away from him later on, Tobio __is_ _ going catch him. And surpass him.

He shakes his head.

__'No.'_ _

He clenches his fists, his knuckles turning white as his blunt nails dig in the skin and flesh of his palms.

"Tsk."

__'I'm not going to let you. Not yet.'_ _

__Ever._ _

He turns his back to the field - h _e wonders why he is still here, wasting his time with this unfortunate sight, when he could be focusing on himself (the coach hasn't forbidden them to practice on their own, after all)._

"Something wrong?" he hears Hajime asking from the bench he is sitting on. Tooru turns his head to look into those sharp eyes. He is being analyzed and he'd better not screw this up.

He tries his best to put on his best __fake_ _ smile and just shakes his head once again, hoping it will be enough for him to look believable even in front of his best friend. "No, Iwa-chan. The match's almost over, so I'm going to warm up and start with my practice," he tells him and lets out a quiet sigh of relief when he finds out his voice doesn't crack.

But Hajime narrows his eyes anyway, and it is more than enough to make Tooru panic on the inside.

"Don't be late."

He feels a breath leave his body and his shoulders relax ever so slightly.

"I won't."

He walks out of the closed space and heads to the athletics field behind the building for a run, deciding to take his time to warm up as much as he can, so he can get back inside and give his best today as well, and show to everyone why he has been chosen as captain. Even if it takes him to the point of collapsing. He feels the confidence slowly building inside of his chest, taking over his whole being, and his heart beats wildly with every step he takes.

By the time he finishes with his third lap and decides it is enough, the match is over and everyone has already returned to regular practice. He takes in a deep breath before he grabs a ball and gets ready to practice on his jump serve. It is already a powerful move of his, the coach told him a couple of days ago, but it still needs to be worked on: precision, control... Tooru understands it all needs to be polished – and only he can do it; he needs to make it _perfect_.

That is going to be his strongest weapon one day and it's going to be _his_ only.

He throws the ball up in the air, takes his quick run up before jumping and once he is at the perfect height, his hand hits the ball, and makes it land beautifully in the corner of the opposite side of the net.

He grins when his feet touch the floor, but he doesn't let his concentration fade.

 __'Just a bit more,'_ _ _he tells himself, but he is more than aware he needs a_ __lot_ _ _more._

.

As he practices, he doesn't even realize a pair of blue eyes is staring at him.

***

It has barely been a month since the beginning of the new school year, but the volleyball practice is as rough as ever - something that has caught most of the first-years off guard - but the coach knows the next tournament's on its way and, even though it seems still so far away, in the end the time always goes by like nothing, and they ought to be ready. Especially now that every first-year has finally chosen their role, they need to practice hard to get it right and to integrate it with their seniors' play.

Tobio has chosen to become a setter, as everyone has expected from him since the very beginning.

"I'm glad we have him on our team. It's been only a couple of weeks since we started practicing seriously, and yet, he's gotten so much better. I believe he is going to join the first string very soon."

The coach's words are not meant to be a secret, because everyone already knows that, so he doesn't bother to keep his voice low while speaking to his colleague.

Tooru hears these words too.

And it irritates him to no end.

Today has been awful from the start. First, he didn't hear his alarm going off and overslept; he got up late and, even though he skipped breakfast and dressed up as quick as he could, he still missed his bus to school - he usually walks, but there was really no time for that. He was forced to take the next one and got to school late, without even working on a lie to tell to the teacher when he got in. He had no choice but to tell the truth and it got him scolded in front of the class and quite a load of extra homework for the day after.

 _'As if what we usually get isn't enough already,'_ he thought while sitting at his desk.

Of course, the rushed routine isn't the only reason his day is screwed. Ever since he has woken up and stood on his feet, he has felt something wrong with his right knee: every time he leans on his leg for too long, it starts to hurt. It isn't a harsh pain, but it's more than enough to add more frustration to his already bad mood.

That's why he thought of spending most of the school hours sitting in the classroom, waiting the beginning of his club activities to move from there and hoping it would help him at least a little.

And finally, when he got into the gym and thought it couldn't get any worse, he hears those words coming out from the coach's mouth.

He is getting ready to try his jump serve one more time, wanting to add more force to it, but because of anger boiling inside of him, he ends up using too much of it and loses control over the ball's direction.

__'Dammit!'_ _

Instead of hitting the field on the other side of the net, it slams violently against the door behind it. He curses under his breath and then takes in a deep breath and shakes his head, desperately trying to calm down his itching nerves, but everything just keeps going so wrong. __'The world's being cruel to me today.'_ _

"What's wrong with you?"

Tooru gasps and turns around, and finds Hajime standing behind him, a volleyball in his hand and the way too familiar frown plastered on his face.

__'Oh. Great.'_ _

Now even __he_ _ is here. Even though Hajime has been his best friend since they were kids, he is the last person he wants to approach him in this very moment. The only reason is that for Hajime, he is a wide open book, and there is no way he is going to be able to lie to him for long.

But he doesn't want to tell the truth either, because w _hat can he even say to him? He can't tell him openly that all he wants to do is jump at Tobio's throat and beat him so hard that he won't be able to ever enter a gym again._

Maybe he could __try_ _ to tell a lie. And get away from him before he notices.

He forces a smile, but makes a mistake when he looks at the ball on the floor he threw a couple of minutes ago instead of looking him in the eyes. "Nothing's wrong, Iwa-chan! I was just trying to add more strength to my serve. Looks like I'll have to work on the control as well." He hopes his tone sounds cheerful enough, he muses.

When he raises his head to look at Hajime again, his smile fades and he freezes.

_'Shit.'_

Hajime is giving him _the_ look.

“Iwa-chan, if you scowl so much, you will get wrinkles! None of the girls will like you!”

Tooru knows he's screwed. Even though he tried his best - no, he didn't; he could have done much better than this - Hajime knows it's a lie. He doesn't take seriously a single word of his. And once again, Tooru reminds himself that he needs to get somewhere else, because otherwise, Hajime is going pull him out of the gym by force and __make_ _ him talk. Whether he wants it or not.

"Iwaizumi! Come here for a second!" the coach suddenly yells.

Oikawa's eyes brighten when he hears the man's deep voice echoing around them, giving him his perfect chance to escape. He smiles again, relieved, and waves his hand. "Well then, Iwa-chan... The coach wants to see you, and I have to return to my practice. See ya later!"

"Wait!"

Before Hajime can say anything else, Tooru is already sprinting to the other side of the gym, letting out a breath he doesn't even know he has been holding, before picking up one of the scattered balls from the floor.

He has never been so happy with an interruption before, because right now, the coach he has been cursing less than ten minutes ago has saved him from a long and hard questioning which would have ended up with his certain death - be it from embarrassment or the punches he would have received from Hajime after he would have told him the real reason behind his frustration.

When he turns around to get ready for another jump serve, the sight he finds in front of himself almost makes him lose his grip on the ball. His expression turns into a mix of surprise and shock and he swears he can feel his blood freezing in his veins.

Hajime is talking to the coach, but he is not alone.

"Iwaizumi, can you work with Kageyama for a couple of weeks from now on? He decided to become a setter, as you already know, and since you're our best wing spiker, you could give him some tips on how to toss the ball to you. I believe you're the best for the task."

Tooru listens to the conversation and can't believe his ears. Is he actually asking _Hajime_ to work _with Tobio_ ? (In front of him?) Hajime definitely isn't the only third-year spiker in this huge team, even though he __is_ _ the best. But that doesn't mean anything. Tobio is just a beginner, so why pairing him Hajime so soon?

Tooru's grip on the ball tightens as he bites his bottom lip nervously. There's no way he's going say yes.

"Don't worry coach. I'll take care of him."

Tooru's eyes widen. Is that stupid brat going to have him so easily? Hajime is _his_ partner and _only_ his. And everyone knows that. So why is this happening? _Why is Hajime saying yes so easily when he doesn't even know his partner?_

This is it. This is officially the worst day he's ever had after their last loss against Shiratorizawa.

But he can't just lose it in front of everyone.

Tooru doesn't know what to do, though. Hajime is already talking to Tobio near one of the benches, and he can't stop staring at them. It looks like he's explaining something to him. Probably the basics, or maybe he the way he wanted the toss from a setter, something that Tooru knows better than anyone even without them telling him.

For the first time in his life, Tooru feels jealous – not like he already is of Tobio's capabilities... It's very different from that. And he doesn't like the feeling of it at all. He's glad they aren't looking at him, because they would probably notice the way he's trying to kill the younger boy with only his gaze.

He shakes his head.

He needs to focus on practice.

His serve still needs lots of work, and he has no time to lose. Not when Tobio has already started to collect what's his with each step he makes.

 __'Come on, Tooru! Focus!'_ _ He keeps encouraging himself, until it actually works.

In fact, as he practices, he manages to slowly regain control of himself, even though the memory of the person he cares the most about and the one he hates with all his might is there, making him unable to give his absolute best. But he doesn't need it yet.

He keeps jumping, hitting the ball and landing without taking a moment to rest. The ache in his leg is there and if Tooru were a bit less focused, he'd be able to feel it increasing. But he doesn't have time for that. He needs to work more, because there's something he must do.

He agrees to one thing with himself.

He's not going to let Hajime replace him with anyone.

.

When the players are allowed to return to their locker rooms and leave the gym it is already some time past seven, and Tooru finds himself being the only one left on the court. He tells the coach he will take care of closing the gym once he is done, so the coach hands him the keys and goes home as well, right after recommending him not to overwork himself.

Tooru has been staying late for a couple of days already, practicing endlessly on his serve and returning home at ungodly hours, which often ended up in him getting scolded by Hajime or, in some rarer cases, by his parents - when they actually have been home and catch him sneaking in the house after nine.

Today he has been practicing as hard as he could, and ever since he stopped staring at Hajime and Tobio and decided to avoid another sight of them, he decided it would have been better not to take any breaks. Even though he has not paid them too much attention after that, he knows they have spent the rest of practice together. At first they were just talking, but then they went to the field and Hajime made him practice his tosses. He even spiked a couple of them and, Tooru noticed, he looked quite satisfied with the results.

In the end, they left towards the locker rooms together.

And the sight left Tooru chewing his lip nervously for a good amount of time.

He isn't used to __not_ _ have his spiker around him for a whole afternoon, and the fact that he is spending his time with Tobio isn't making it easier. What worries him though, is that the coach has actually asked them to spend together a longer amount of time than this.

Tooru jumps for the umpteenth time that day. He hits the ball but misses again. It is a bit better than before though: it doesn't hit too far away from the lines of the court, but it is still out.

As he lands on his feet, he feels another painful throb in his knee - this time too strong for him to pretend he doesn't feel anything - which makes him hiss and curse under his breath. _This_ is starting to feel more than uncomfortable and __way_ _ harder to ignore.

"Fuck..."

He knows he is reaching his limit for the day, because his body is begging – _screaming_ \- for mercy and now that he is standing up straight, he feels pain spreading through his calve and thigh more and more with every second.

But his thoughts stay the same.

_'Just one more.'_

He bends down to grab another ball from the floor and then gets ready to throw it in the air and perform the next serve, but before he manages to move a muscle, he's interrupted.

"What the hell are you still doing here?!"

He winces at the sound of a too well known voice and the ball accidentally slips away from his hands and falls on the floor. He turns around and looks at the boy approaching him.

_Hajime._

And from the look he is receiving, Tooru knows he's angry.

It isn't the first time he has been caught in the gym so late. And it has always been by Hajime – sometimes Tooru wonders how he can possibly know he is here all the time- who has never missed the opportunity to scold him because of his strenuous work. And even when Tooru keeps promising him it's the last time, every single time he still keeps breaking his words and continues to do what he wants. But he doesn't care, because Iwa-chan doesn't hold grudges.

Something bothers him though.

 __'_ No...' _ he thinks as he observes Hajime's face more carefully. _He is not angry._

He is _furious._

Tooru decides not to pick up the ball he was aiming for and straightens up, taking a step back. The sudden movement causes his knee to buckle, making him stumble backwards. "Fuck!" he curses and looks at himself, begging his body to last just a little longer... Just the time to convince Hajime to go away and get back home without earning any more damage.

His eyes return on his childhood friend and he notices he has already grabbed a ball while he was distracted and is ready to shoot it in his head. He gulps and shakes his head. "No, wait... Iwa-ch- Ouch!"

Hajime spikes it right into his face, this time directly causing him to lose his balance. He doesn't fall however; he manages to stay on his feet, but the resistance doesn't make it any better.

He pushes the ball away from him and covers his cheek and nose with his hand before looking at Hajime with a pout on his face. "Iwa-chan, that hurt!" He decides not to add anything else, because the boy in front of him doesn't look like in the mood for their typical quarrel. And he doesn't want to risk his life now, does he?

"Shut up, Assikawa!"

Tooru blinks. _This_ is not the usual one he uses with him all the time. This one sounds much harsher, and Tooru doesn't like it at all.

He was so sure about reaching out to him to talk and tell him everything that is bothering him and now that he has the perfect chance, and his determination is fading. He decides against it eventually, because right now, he has to worry about getting out of such a situation – _possibly unharmed_ \- without putting an end to his practice. He needs that last serve.

And yet, he feels so weak.

"What's the matter with you today?"

Tooru curses mentally, a frown appearing on his face.

 _Of course._ It's always been like that. There is __always_ _ something wrong with __him_ _ , in any situation. It is never the other way around. Never.

And he's aware of that. He doesn't try to justify himself.

The courage to talk is gone completely by now, and they are the only ones left in the gym, so he can't hope for another save like before. Now he wishes he went home earlier.

"Everything's fine, Iwa-chan."

"Bullshit!"

A small, dejected, smile appears on his face. He curses himself for not having the strength to even try and sound convincing. The scenes from before is returning to his head and he suddenly feels even worse. Even though it would be enough if he cleared it with Hajime right now, he just isn't able to.

"Iwa-chan..."

He looks down.

He hears Hajime grunting in front of him and he knows he is throwing himself over a dangerous line. He shuts his eyes, ready for a punch or something, but that is not what he gets.

"What could have possibly happened to you to make you act like this?!" Hajime yells. He then glances at Tooru's trembling leg and clenches his fists. "And why the hell are you practicing with your leg in those conditions?! Do you seriously want to hurt yourself?!"

Hajime observes him, hoping for an answer, a convincing one. Even if it sounds stupid, it would still be something. And yet, Tooru isn't looking at him. His eyes are still low on the wooden floor, and he's so uncharacteristically quiet.

But there's nothing he can say. He knows he's overworking himself and that he should have stopped days ago. _But he can't._

Otherwise, _Tobio_...

"Nothing's wrong, Iwa-chan." he mumbles once again.

This is it.

Hajime decides he isn't going to tolerate this anymore. He grabs him by the collar of his shirt and pulls him towards himself. "Listen to me, you stupid idiot! Do you think I didn't notice? Your short tempered behavior, your excessive practice... It's because of Kageyama, isn't it?!"

Tooru's eyes widen and finally, __finally_ _ he looks into Hajime's eyes, shocked.

And Hajime understands.

__Jackpot._ _

He had his suspicion all along, but he was never sure of it. Tooru hasn't even exchanged a word with the first-year setter, nor has he talked to him about it, like he usually does. Now that he has his confirm and sees Tooru's expression, he realizes that the situation isn't so trivial after all. Not for Tooru at least.

_Is he-?_

He isn't just acting childish like he usually does... No, it's completely different, and Hajime knows. Because there's been only __one time_ _ he's seen him like this. And he remembers himself feeling the same way at the time.

The spiker slowly lets go of his shirt and sighs. He makes a few steps backwards and turns around. "Let's clean up."

"Yes."

They get to work. Hajime takes care of picking up the balls, while Tooru mops the floor. Once Hajime gets them all in the cart, he takes them to the storage room and puts them into a corner. As he's adjusting them on the floor, he hears Tooru coming in behind him. He straightens up and turns to look at him. He's leaning the mop onto the wall silently and Hajime takes the opportunity to take a better look at him.

He's been like this for the last couple of days. And he isn't used to him being so... quiet. Not around himself at least, and Tooru is __always_ _ around him.

"You're frustrated."

Tooru looks at him dejectedly, though he still tries to curve his lips up in a smile. Even this attempt is a total failure.

And for Hajime it's too much.

Tooru turns around, ready to walk out of the room, but suddenly, Hajime grabs his arm and pulls him to himself. He watches brown eyes widen in surprise as he keeps reducing the distance, before he closes the final gap between them, meeting his lips with Tooru's. He feels the setter's body stiffen so he lets go of his arm and moves the hand on the back of his neck, making the other one land on his hip.

It's a simple, chaste kiss, and when he pulls away, he observes Tooru's surprised expression. He still feels him extremely tense underneath his touch and feels awkward about it himself as well, because he's never been the type to take initiative. And yet, there he is.

Before the setter has the time to say anything, Hajime kisses him again. This time it's deeper, and hotter, and the spiker has to admit it's not that bad - taking the initiative, that is. He takes his time, tasting him and enjoying the way his lips are so soft for a guy's. He licks his bottom lip slowly, making the setter gasp and open his mouth, and immediately takes the opportunity to deepen the kiss even further, entering his mouth with his tongue.

He presses their bodies together, his hand now firm on the Tooru's lower back and hears him letting out a moan in response. It doesn't take long for him to give in now.

Soon enough Tooru's sitting on a pile of mattresses placed next to the door, hands back for support, with Hajime sitting on his lap, straddling his hips and kissing him passionately.

When Hajime finally feels the lack of breath, he pulls away and looks at him with half-lidded eyes. "Iwa-chan... What-" Tooru whispers, but is silenced once more with another kiss. Hajime kisses his lips hungrily, before finally pulling away and moving to his jaw.

He then lowers onto his neck, biting and sucking gently every now and then, and it makes Tooru throw his head back and gasp.

_It's been so long._

This isn't the first time they are doing this. It all started since their loss against Shiratorizawa at the end of their second year of middle school. Tooru has been frustrated for about a month before Hajime went to him and forced him to vent. Things led to one another, and they ended up panting on Tooru's bed, covered in sweat and cum.

They have never really gone __all the way_ _ , but there has never been any need for it. It isn't something they do on a regular basis and the few times it happens it's because __Tooru_ _ _i_ s in the mood and tends to insist about it until Hajime eventually gives up and lets him do whatever he wants.

Of course, the quick hand jobs after practice don't mean they're dating. Tooru has been seeing a good number of girls in the mean time, even though he always keeps getting dumped in the end because of his ever growing obsession for volleyball, and Hajime actually dated a couple of girls himself. His relationships didn't end up well either, because apparently he _is giving_ __too much attention_ _ to his setter.

In the end, it doesn't matter.

However, because of the start of the new school year and Tooru's frustration, which turned into hours of extra practice, they have never managed to find any time to spend together in any way during this last month.

 __'I sure missed it,'_ _ Tooru thinks when he feels his shirt being raised, so he straightens up, lifts his arms and lets Hajime remove it. He watches it being thrown away not too far from them and then moves his eyes on him and observes him standing up from his lap and spreading his legs with his hands, only to kneel down between them.

He licks his lips, putting his hands on Hajime's shoulders, and is about to lean forward towards him, but is pushed back soon enough and held in place before he can decide what to do.

Hajime is looking at him with a serious expression, which has nothing of his usual face: he isn't irritated or mad like he was all those times he caught him in the gym; it's much softer and Tooru could swear he sees a faint blush on his tanned cheeks thanks to the light coming from the gym.

"How rare..." he mutters, smirking and then relaxing, as he leans against the wall satisfied. His Iwa-chan is going to do all the work this time and he has to admit he's been looking forward to something like that.

"Shut up."

When Tooru's finally adjusted the way he wants him to be, Hajime gets back to where he stopped before and places open-mouthed kisses on his neck and collarbone, leaving a trail of saliva and red marks on his skin. As he keeps getting lower, he looks up every now and then and the sight in front of him, he has to admit, is amazing.

The way Tooru's looking at him, eyes half-lidded and light gasps escaping his mouth while the spiker's hands slide down his hips, to his thighs and stop there... It's making him go crazy.

Hajime feels his erection growing in his pants but decides to ignore it, because this moment isn't about him. It's about Tooru. He's the one who needs release more than him and he knows this surely isn't the last time they are going to do it, so he can afford to neglect his own needs this once and fully concentrate on his needy friend.

He keeps kissing him, mouth running over his abs, while his hand reaches in front of him to palm his manhood through his shorts. He caresses it slowly but firmly, hearing the setter moan loudly and throw his head back. Hajime his hands clenching into fists as he grows impatient because of the constant teasing.

"Iwa-chan..."

The pleading tone coming from his mouth is enough for Hajime to lose it completely. He pulls away from his chest and grabs the setter's shorts and briefs, pulling them down at once. He makes him raise his legs a little to pull them off, careful not to put any pressure on his knee, and throws them where his previously discarded shirt's lying.

Tooru shivers at the action, his cock standing out right in front of Hajime's mouth. The raven slides his hand up his thigh, caressing it gently, before grabbing firmly the base of his cock. He hears Tooru moan in approval and takes it as an invitation to give him a few strokes. Then, encouraged by the pleasured sounds Tooru lets out, he approaches it and gives a gentle lick over the slit.

He pulls away for a moment, licking his lips to wet them before fully taking the head of his cock in his mouth and sucking on it in a way that has Tooru's hands curling into fists, eyes shut tightly, as he resists the urge to just let himself go, grab Hajime's head and start thrusting in his mouth. He moans louder and the sound seems to spur Hajime on: he takes it in deeper, as much as he can, before he feels he's going to choke if he keeps going and pulls back once again, coughing.

The lack of warmth around his member makes Tooru open his eyes and look down once again. "Take it easy, Iwa-chan." he whispers huskily.

As soon as Hajime catches his breath again, he gets back to where he stopped before. He adjustes himself quickly, remembering his limits and as well the actions that usually get the most positive reactions from Tooru. With that on his mind, he returns to work on his task, the eager slurping sounds of the blow job are more than enough to leave the brunette above him moaning even louder and rolling his hips slightly in rhythm with the other's movements.

"F-faster."

The spiker complies immediately and increases the rhythm, tongue moving faster against Tooru's shaft, the hand on the base accompanying his movements now, covering the parts his mouth isn't over. Suddenly he feels Tooru's hand moving in his hair, massaging his scalp gently and accompanying his movements. "I-Iwa... Ah!"

Hajime knows what he meant and moved even faster, his movements becoming erratic, making the whole thing sloppier. Tooru feels the familiar sensation in his stomach growing and knows immediately he's close to his desired release.

"I-Iwa-chan... Please... I..."

Hajime's grip tightens around him and the noises coming from Tooru become impossibly louder, his muscles tensing as he feels himself reaching his peek. He moans some incoherent words, gripping Hajime's hair tighter, the other hand clawing the mattress underneath him.

Suddenly, he opens his eyes wide, letting out one last, pleasured moan, as he throws his head back, his body stiffening slightly as semen comes out of his cock and into Hajime's mouth. Feeling the hot cum filling him, Hajime moans as well, his cock twitching painfully in his pants. He doesn't care... He can take care of it later.

He looks up.

Tooru's sitting limp on the mattress, eyes now closed again, chest moving up and down because of his heavy breathing, with his back leaned against the wall. He looks extremely tired but, Hajime notices, there's a small smile on his face and his whole expression is softer than before. He doesn't know if it's because he's feeling better or if he's just putting an act...

He lets the thought go; he'll find out later on anyway.

Right now, he wants to keep him like this. He swallows every single drop of semen in his mouth and then licks his lips clean before pulling away from the and slowly standing up. He takes in deep breaths, trying to calm down and take away his attention from his arousal.

He turns around and walks to where Tooru's clothes were thrown after he stripped him and picks them up carefully. When he gathers everything, he puts them next to his friend's still shaking body.

"Iwa-chan..."

He turns his head to face him, dark gray eyes meeting brown, and he doesn't need to look down to notice his hand is being taken and caressed by the setter's calloused fingers. He lets him do it.

With the other hand, Tooru pulls him down by the collar of his shirt, so they are now sitting next to each other and then reaches him to give him a peck on the lips before leaning his head onto his shoulder.

Even though he has no more strength in his body, he still manages to mumble something before sighing and closing his eyes, burying his face in the crook of the spiker's neck.

"Iwa-chan... Can I stay at your place tonight?"

Hajime's hand buries itself in the soft brown hair tickling his skin. He knows he doesn't need to say anything, because they both know he'll approve it anyway, because he always does. And he always would. No words were ever needed between them; their actions have always spoken for them.

This time, however, he says a 'yes' out loud. Just to reassure him.

"Get dressed and let's go then. It's getting late."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> This is the first fanfiction I've ever written in the Haikyuu!! fandom. Most of you may already know about it, because I had it posted up here until a while ago. I have decided to rewrite it, correct all the mistakes I have spotted while rereading it countless times during this last year and here it is. More similar to the writing style of my other stories.
> 
> There still may be some mistakes, but I promise I will get back and work on it later.
> 
> So, the main difference is the format of the chapters. You can expect them to be longer, richer and with some plot changes. I am planning on updating this once every two weeks (or maybe even once a week, depending on how much time I have to edit and reread).
> 
> ***
> 
> I hope you enjoy the reading. Thank you in advance for all Comments, Kudos and Bookmarks. It means a lot to me.


	2. Watch Your Mouth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Shut up, Iwa-chan!" Tooru hisses. He is not going to take any more of this. He grips tightly the hand Hajime's holding him with and narrows his eyes. "You wouldn't understand anyway, so let's stop it here."
> 
> That is not the answer Hajime's looking for.
> 
> "I wouldn't understand?! What the hell is up between you two?! You have never even talked to him!"
> 
> "I don't need to talk to him to-"
> 
> "To what, Oikawa?!"
> 
> "-TO KNOW HE'S GOING TO TAKE MY PLACE!" Tooru shouts and, with a struggle, he manages to break free from the spiker's grip, which causes him to stumble backwards, the pain throbbing in his knee as he tries in vain to keep his balance only to fail miserably. He falls down, cursing, and then throws a punch to the floor next to him.

The walk to Hajime's house takes more than it should now that Tooru's adrenaline has fallen. The pain in his leg is making him completely unable to put weight on it.

Except for the last few minutes, during practice it wasn't that bad, however after he has cooled down and dressed up, he has been barely capable of taking two steps before his leg gave out on him and almost made him collapse on the spot, making him regret almost every action he forced onto himself in the past month.

Hajime knows that and, even though he is glad the idiot has finally realized what overwork could do to his body, he's still worried for him and it made him offer himself for support. He remembers sliding his arm around Tooru's waist and making him throw his around his shoulders.

While it usually takes them about twenty minutes to get to Hajime's house, this time it takes them almost the double.

When they finally get in front of his door, Tooru lets go of him and leans against the wall, letting the other boy dig in his bag and pull out the keys when he finds them. He fumbles with them for a moment before finding the right one and opening up.

"Sorry for the intrusion!" Tooru says out loud.

"There's no one home, dumbass."

Tooru turns to look at him with his usual childish expression. "Eh? How was I supposed to know that, Iwa-chan? You are so mean!" he whines - a little too loud for Hajime's taste but then again, when is it that Tooru has been able to keep it down? - and waves his arms. Hajime grunts. "I told you at least three times the other day."

"But you know I don't listen!"

"What did you say?!" Hajime glares at him.

"Nothing. I must have forgotten. Sorry, Iwa-chan."

Hajime sighs and takes off his shoes before walking into the living room, throwing his bag on the couch and then turning to look at Tooru, who is placing his shoes down next to his. "If you want you can have a bath while I order a pizza. I'll go in after dinner."

Tooru's eyes sparkle at his words. A nice bath is exactly what he needs after a day like this. "Okay, Iwa-chan! I still have some spare clothes here, right?"

Hajime rolls his eyes, annoyed. "You __know_ _ you do. As if you're ever going to take them away unless I throw them out along with you," he says. "There should already be some clean towels in the bathroom, so you can go."

Tooru grins. "Oh, Iwa-chan! Were you expecting me to come here before I even asked?"

A vein pops up on Hajime's forehead and the glare gives to the setter is getting deadlier by the second. Tooru knows it can become dangerous if he keeps it up so he just smiles innocently and waves his hand. "Well then, I'll be going in now. Can you bring me a change of clothes, Iwa-chan?"

As he finishes talking, he turns around before waiting for a reply, ready to walk to the stairs to head towards the bathroom, but as soon as he puts his weight on his injured leg, he finds himself cursing loudly, a wave of pain spreading all over his sore muscles. His hand clutches his pants tightly as he grits his teeth. Hajime is next to him the second after, supporting him so he doesn't fall.

"Will you manage to do it on your own?"

Tooru stays motionless and silent for a good minute before looking at Hajime. He considers denying for a split moment, but he discards the idea as soon as his muscle tenses involuntarily and has him seeing stars. His lips curve up in a strained smile as he tries not to show it too much. "I think I'll need some helps after all."

He doesn't need to say anything else, because Hajime has already adjusted them in the same position from before and is heading forward. He makes sure to avoid putting too much pressure on Tooru after what he has seen - because he has seen more than well - so he leans him against himself as much as possible and takes his time.

They climb the stairs carefully, one by one, without saying a word, and when they finally make it on the upper floor, Hajime brings him to the bathroom and then lets go of him. He walks towards the bath tub and turns on the water, being careful to adjust it to the right temperature. He then looks around for the towels, which are settled on a small chair next to the sink. He lifts up the whole thing and puts it where it makes them easier to reach.

He turns around and notices Tooru has already taken off his shirt and is working his way on his pants. When he pushes them down his legs and they get to his ankles, he carefully steps out of them. When he looks back up in front of him, he finds Hajime's eyes fixed on him.

He smirks.

"Like what you see, Iwa-chan?"

As soon as he says those words, Hajime groans and rolls his eyes, though there __is_ _ a small blush on his face. "Don't be ridiculous, you idiot." With that, he walks to the door and opens it. "Can you continue on your own from here?" he asks. He doesn't want to leave without making sure Tooru can take it on his own from now on.

"What kind of question is that? Are you my mo-"

" _Oikawa._ "

Tooru stops immediately. "Don't worry."

He watches as Hajime gets out and closes the door behind him and he has to admit he feels a bit disappointed. It would have been nice if the spiker had stayed and joined him in his bath. Maybe they could have continued from where they left off before. It has been a while since Tooru has started craving for more, but it's not his intention to insist. He'll make Iwa-chan come and ask for it instead. When he's ready.

Aware that it's not going to happen _right now_ , he sighs and turns towards the tub. Then he takes off his underwear as well and then limps to it, trying to make the contact between the floor and his right leg as light as he can. Stepping into the tub is harder than he thought it would be, but with a little effort, he manages to sit into it without screaming in pain or cursing.

When the tub is full, he closes the tap and leans back. As soon as he adjusts himself in the most comfortable position, he sighs, closing his eyes: this is just what he needed. He feels his muscles relax completely in the water and soon notices the pain isn't as strong as it was when he was standing. This is a sign for him to let it rest, and he is well aware of it. At least for a couple of days.

But if he does that and skips practice, then...

Suddenly the door opens and his eyes snap open.

"I'll leave your clothes here." Hajime says as he walks in and puts them next to the sink. He then looks at Tooru, who has his eyes still fixed on him, and continues: "The pizza should be here in twenty minutes, so don't stay in for too long."

Tooru nods and watches him as he steps out, closing the door and leaving him alone once again. He smiles slightly and then proceeds to wash himself. He decides to take his time, because twenty minutes are more than enough to do it. When he's done, he touches his knee and tries to put pressure on some places around it to see where it hurts the most, but, at the moment, it hurts everywhere. He decides to try again later on or tomorrow.

He takes in a deep breath before standing up. He steps out of the tub carefully, grabbing a towel to wipe his body dry with it and then he rubs the other one in his wet hair and then hangs it around his neck. The ache in his leg is back, as expected so he leans on it only when truly necessary.

__'I've really screwed this up.'_ _

He reaches for his underwear first and puts it on. Then he gets back to the tub and makes the water flow away, leaning then over it to open the window above.

He then returns to his clothes again and first puts on the pair of gray sweatpants and then the large black T-shirt. He wipes his hair with the towel once more and then hangs it on the small drying rack he remembers Hajime always tells him to use.

Deciding he's done with the bathroom, he walks to the door and, as soon as he opens it, the doorbell rings.

"Coming!" he hears Hajime yell as he runs to the door with his wallet in his hands.

Tooru makes his way to the stairs, and decides not to ask for help to get down. He really doesn't want to bother him too much, because he can do it on his own. He just has to avoid too much contact between his right leg and the floor and it'll be fine. _'I_ __t can't possibly be that hard now, can it?'_ _ It takes him some time to figure out the best way to move but soon he finds it and gets down without too many problems.

"Thank you very much! Good evening!"

"Bye!" Hajime answers and closes the door. He turns around and finds Tooru behind him, which almost makes him drop the two pizza boxes in his hands. "What the hell are you doing here?" he asks irritated.

Tooru raises an eyebrow, a confused expression on his face. "What do you mean, Iwa-chan? You told me the pizza would be here in twenty minutes so I washed myself up and got out _in time_."

Hajime glares at him. "I know what I said, you idiot. How did you even get down when yo-"

Tooru smiles and and makes thumbs up. "Don't worry, Iwa-chan! I found a way!"

"What if you-"

"Come on, Iwa-chan!" Tooru interrupts him; he keeps smiling as he reaches out to him and grabs the two boxes from his hands. "Let's go to eat, or it will cool down! You know I don't like cold food!" Without giving Hajime the time to reply, he walks towards the living room, trying not to make his limping too evident. When he gets there, he notices the small table next to the couch has been set for the food. He sits on the floor, so his back is leaned on the couch behind and puts the boxes on it. He takes a napkin and puts it next to himself and then grabs the first box and puts it in his lap.

Hajime follows him and sits next to him.

He glances at Tooru and notices his eyes are already fixed on the TV. There's nothing interesting on, just a movie that started a little after Tooru had left for his bath and he's aware Tooru isn't taken by it at all, even if he pretends to be. He knows why the he is acting this way; he knows he's trying his best to avoid any conversation about the current situation, but he's not going to let him do that for too long.

Not when his _health_ is on the line.

Tooru is eating already, and Hajime takes a first slice for himself as well.

They eat in silence for a while, until the spiker can't take it anymore. He puts the box on the table, some pizza still left in it, and turns to look at Tooru. "Oh, God... Just stop it."

Hazel eyes widen slightly. __'Going at it already?'_ _ He tilts his head to the side as he swallows what he still has in his mouth. "What do you mean, Iwa-chan?"

"Don't you 'what do you mean' me! You know what I mean."

"Of course I know, Iwa-chan. But do we really have to talk about it now?"

Hajime's expression is enough for him to know the answer and Tooru knows he can't escape from the questioning that's about to come.

"Why were you at the gym so late when your leg is like this?!" he asks, and this time he's not going to let go until he gets it all out of him. As expected, Tooru doesn't reply. He takes another slice from his box and eats it slowly, chewing more than necessary just to gain some time to think.

He knows he screwed up and because of his behavior his body is suffering __and_ _ Hajime is mad. He doesn't want to talk about it, because there's nothing new to say.

Sick of the lack of answers, Hajime slams his fist on the table, making the two glasses on it tremble slightly and Tooru drops what he holds in his hand immediately. He sighs and lays the box on the couch behind him. "What do you want me to say?"

It makes Hajime snap. He shifts on his place, so he is now on his knees, facing the setter. "What do __I_ _ want you to say? What the hell is wrong with you? If it's about Kageyama, you really shouldn't-"

Tooru clenches his fists. "Kageyama has nothing to do with this."

"Bullshit!"

Hajime stands up and grabs Tooru's shirt, pulling him up along. "Don't you even dare, Oikawa." His tone is menacing, because now it is _not_ the time to joke. And it pisses him of, because he really is not in the mood for this. "I'm not daring anything, Iwa-chan." he mumbles.

"You're an open book to me. Did I think I wouldn't notice your behavior? You stay late in the gym to practice over and over and, ever since that first year joined the club, you are always irritated and touchy. And the way you try to kill Kageyama with your gaze only every time he walks in front of you..."

"Shut up, Iwa-chan!" Tooru hisses. He is not going to take any more of this. He grips tightly the hand Hajime's holding him with and narrows his eyes. "You wouldn't understand anyway, so let's stop it here."

That is __not_ _ the answer Hajime's looking for.

"I wouldn't understand?! What the hell is up between you two?! You have never even talked to him!"

"I don't need to talk to him to-"

"To what, Oikawa?!"

"-TO KNOW HE'S GOING TO TAKE MY PLACE!" Tooru shouts and, with a struggle, he manages to break free from the spiker's grip, which causes him to stumble backwards, the pain throbbing in his knee as he tries in vain to keep his balance only to fail miserably. He falls down, cursing, and then throws a punch to the floor next to him.

Hajime stares down at him, stunned. He doesn't know what to say: he knows Tooru is holding a grudge towards Tobio – because he __always_ _ holds grudges - but he would never have thought it is this bad already, especially since the two never even exchanged a word, be it during practice or outside the gym. "Hey, that's not-"

"Don't you even try telling me it's not true, Iwa-chan. Of course you aren't worried about that. After all, you'll always get to play because either way you'll have a setter who'll constantly toss to you. If I, however, don't get better, I'll end up on the sidelines. So don't you even dare to talk to me like you know it all." His voice is shattered and Hajime stays silent for a while, taken aback by such a direct answer.

Tooru is a mess.

And he doesn't know what to do to put him back together.

The fact that Tooru thinks he can be replaced so easily is completely foolish, and yet, he is so convinced about it it is driving him crazy. Hajime clenches his fists and shakes his head. "Listen, I don't really know what's going on in that head of yours, but trust me, no one is going to replace you anytime soon. Let along with a first year."

Tooru looks up at him dejectedly. "You can't know that, Iwa-chan."

"But it's not worth hurting yourself because of something like this!"

Tooru grits his teeth. "I'm fine!"

"No. You're. Not!"

"WHY DO YOU EVEN CARE?!"

And in this precise moment, Tooru feels like punching himself for screaming those words on top of his lungs, because he __knows_ _ Hajime cares and, of all the things he could have said to him, asking him __why_ _ after so many years they've spent together is the worst thing he could have possibly chosen to let out of his mouth.

He stops breathing and for the first time in his life, his eyes see an expression he never wished to see and hoped he would never get to. Hajime's eyes are staring at him in shock, his mouth open as if about to say something before his sentence threw him completely off. His arms fall limp on the sides of his body and everything he was going to say stays in.

Tooru doesn't know how to reply to that sight, because a simple I'm sorry isn't going to be enough, because it'll never take back those words.

After a minute of silence, which was probably needed for Hajime to fully understand what was just said to him. “ __Why_ _ do _I_ care?" he finally mumbles, more to himself than to Tooru. He's not shouting or raising his voice in any way. And that is what freaks Tooru out. He wishes he were screaming every kind of insult at him, or maybe punching him, because that would be a lot easier to face since he'd be able to tell what's on his mind.

But when he is like this...

"You know what..." Hajime starts and Tooru doesn't move. "I'm done with all of this shit." He takes a couple of steps backwards. "If you want to keep this up and break your leg, then do it. I'm done being your baby sitter." He speaks slowly and as he listens, Tooru wishes he weren't saying these words.

"Iwa-chan, I..."

" _Fuck you._ "

With that, Hajime walks upstairs and gets into the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind him.

Tooru finally lets out the air he has been holding in his lungs, and as soon as he does, panic starts to take over him. __'What have I done?'_ _ He tries to stand up slowly and immediately regrets it, because the ache is once more taking over his muscles. And he isn't sure if it's only that, because he feels weak everywhere; his leg, his arms, his _chest_...

His whole body starts to tremble.

_What has he done?_

The question keeps repeating itself in his mind and the realization that his childish behavior is going to have extreme consequences on the relationship between himself and Hajime is making his head spin. He forces himself to stand on his feet and then staggers to the stairs.

He needs to fix this.

He goes up without thinking too much, hissing with every stair he climbs. He doesn't care about the pain... It can wait. He needs to get to that door but it seems so difficult to reach. He leans on the wall halfway through and looks down. __'Please, don't give up on me now.'_ _ He takes in deep breaths to calm down and then continues.

It takes him a good amount of time to get to the last stair, but he couldn't have done it faster in his condition. He finally finds himself in front of the bathroom door and when he reaches it, his leg gives out once again and he ends up gripping on it to stay up. His breathing is shallow and he takes himself a minute to put himself together.

Then he knocks.

"Iwa-chan..."

No answer.

He tries again, this time a little louder. "Iwa-chan." He doesn't get any words in return, because he knows that Hajime doesn't want to have anything to do with him, but he just can't bring himself to leave. He is not going anywhere before they talk about it, hopefully without fighting or going straight onto sex without clearing anything like earlier.

Since no answer is given this time either, Tooru decides to wait for him in the bedroom. Hajime is not going to stay in there forever and, thanks to his injury, he is not going to leave before tomorrow, which means he's got time.

He only needs to be patient and in the meanwhile, he is going to think about what to say to him.

***

Hajime doesn't know for how long he's been sitting in the bathtub. What he knows, though, is that the water is getting cold and the once pleasurable feeling on his skin is slowly turning into quite an uncomfortable one.

_'WHY DO YOU EVEN CARE?!'_

Those words have been imprinted in his mind since they left Tooru's mouth and are making his stomach hurt. This _whole situation_ is driving him nuts and he has no idea of what to do about it... It all took him by surprise and now that he's finally thinking about him with a clear mind, he believes that if Tooru had stabbed him with a knife, it would have felt less painful than this. He's so, __so_ _ angry; how could he even ask that damn question after everything?

He knows why Tooru's acting this way. All the pressure he's getting must be hard to bear, but _he_ has nothing to do with that. However the awareness of Tooru losing it was most likely to occur in his presence is also there, since they spend _lots_ of time together, but he still wishes it happened with someone else. Those words wouldn't hurt as much if it was someone else to receive them, would they?

He decides it is enough with the bath; the water is too cold for his taste by now, so he stands up and steps out. After all, he doesn't want to get sick because of something so stupid – Tooru will probably do something stupid if he is absent. He dries himself quickly and puts his clothes on.

When he's done, he turns to look at the door hesitantly. He's not sure if it's a good idea to go out there, but, he muses, it's his own damn house, so he can do whatever he wants. And yet, he still doesn't feel like it. Tooru is probably - surely - still here, since it's impossible for him to leave his house with his leg in those conditions, which means they are forced to face each other sooner or later. But it still makes him feel weird, unsure.

For all he knows, they could get into another fight or ignore each other for the whole night... And the fact that he doesn't know which one of the options will happen, makes it so that he can't prepare himself for it properly. And it could end like before, something he absolutely doesn't want to repeat. He wishes he had reacted in another way and by Tooru's expression after he yelled at him, he believes the setter didn't mean to come out with those words either.

He wouldn't bet on it though... They may have been friends since they were kids, but there are still moments when he can't see through him.

 _'Enough with the suppositions...'_ He shakes his head and slaps his cheeks slightly with his hands. Only then he finds out he's trembling.

He must get out of here, otherwise he'll have his head full of doubts forever. He finally opens the door and looks around. There is no noise coming from any of the rooms, so he goes downstairs, figuring Tooru should still be there, since he isn't exactly in the right condition to move, but when he gets into the living room, he finds it empty. It is almost like it was when he left it, with the two pizza boxes on the couch, Tooru's unused napkin on the floor and empty glasses on the small coffee table. The TV is still on as well and he notices the movie that was on before has already ended and another one has already begun. But there is no Tooru.

He decides to check if he's in the kitchen, but when he walks in, he finds no one in there either.

_'Where the hell is that idiot?'_

He checks the hall one more time to make sure they didn't accidentally miss each other. And they didn't.

_'Don't tell me he actually-'_

He turns around and looks at the entrance and immediately finds himself sighing in relief: Tooru's shoes are still where he left them when they came in, next to his own.

And then it hits him.

He knocked on the door of the bathroom some minutes after he got in, but he was so pissed off he didn't even pay attention to it.

He runs upstairs and heads to his room, because that's the only place left where he could be. He finds the door closed, and stops in front of it for a moment, holding his breath. It doesn't take him long to get his courage back, because he knows he _must_ to go in sooner or later. He grabs the handle and opens it, taking a step in and immediately freezing in place at the sight in front of him.

Tooru is lying on the futon he has set for him after he brought him his clothes in the bathroom, but the way he looks is all but peaceful. His body is curled up, as he lies on his side, his back facing the door, and his breathing heavy and erratic. He seems to be trying his best to keep his voice down by covering his mouth with his hand, while his other one is gripping tightly his trembling leg, as if trying in vain to tear away the ache.

He doesn't seem to notice Hajime's presence, because he doesn't react in any way when he steps closer in to check on him. Hajime doesn't say anything to try and get his attention and just turns around and walks back out of the room, leaving the door open.

He feels like punching himself for reacting like that and leaving him alone, because he should have known he'd go upstairs __on his own_ _ to apologize without thinking about his well-being , and would end up hurting himself even more. __'So much about him being the only idiot.'_ _

He goes into the bathroom and takes out a box of painkillers from one of the cupboards next to the sink. Then he goes downstairs and heads to the kitchen, where he grabs a glass and fills it with cold water, then reaching the freezer and taking out a bag of ice. He sets everything on a tray and returns to his room, hoping it didn't take him too long.

He notices Tooru hasn't moved a muscle in the meanwhile, so he approaches the futon, lays what he brought with himself on the floor and then sits down beside him. He's hesitant at first, but then he finally leans closer to him, putting one hand on his hip and the other one in his hair, caressing him gently.

Tooru turns around quickly, taken aback by the sudden contact and he stays like that until he's sure he's not seeing things. He lets Hajime move caress him, leaning in ever so slightly, and sighing in pleasure. When Hajime withdraws, Tooru sits up slowly and adjusts himself. He raises an eyebrow when he finds a glass being handed to him. Hazel eyes meet black for a moment before he looks back down, and figures out he's holding a pill as well.

"Take it."

Tooru obeys immediately. He takes the percocet and shoves it in his mouth; then he grabs the glass and drinks until it's empty. He hopes the painkiller will have its effect immediately as he puts it back down. Suddenly, he feels something freezing on his knee and gasps. He sees Hajime placing an ice bag on it and, before he manages to ask anything, Hajime speaks. "Keep it on until the pill starts working."

"Thank you."

They stay like that for a long moment, without saying a word more.

"I'm sorry about before. I shouldn't have reacted like that." Hajime is the first one to talk, and Tooru looks at him. He doesn't like this serious atmosphere between them... It's so tense and hard to keep up with and he's not used to be around his Iwa-chan this way. It doesn't feel right.

He grins. "You really should be, Iwa-chan! You-" He stops his poor attempt at a joke as soon as he sees Hajime's expression: he's dead serious and truly sorry for his previous actions, even though he hasn't done anything wrong. And Tooru feels bad about it, because he's the one who's supposed to beg for his forgiveness. His grin turns into a bitter smile, and he looks down at the hand that's still holding the ice on his leg.

"It's my fault... I shouldn't have said that." He almost doesn't recognize his own voice, so shaking and quiet, but he just can't keep it normal in a moment like this. He hurt his best friend because he's an idiot and he just wants to go back to before so he could avoid it ever happening.

He reaches out and puts his hand on top of Hajime's and is glad when he doesn't move it away. "I didn't mean it. I was really irritated because of the shitty day I've had and I didn't think. I... I really didn't want to hurt you, so please don't be mad at me... _Please._ " Tooru hopes he will accept, but there's no answer coming out from him and the knot in his stomach keeps getting tighter and tighter and he feels desperate.

Just when he's about to lose it, Hajime nods. "Don't worry about it. It's okay." And Tooru is relieved. He sighs and, this time, gives him one of his genuine smiles.

"Thank you, Iwa-chan."

The painkiller is slowly starting to have the desired effect and soon enough because Tooru's leg stops trembling and his body relaxes, giving him finally a possibility for some quality rest. He moves his gaze up at the clock and realizes it's already some time past eleven and they are supposed to go to school tomorrow.

He's not really sure of how he's going to get there like this, but he'll think about it in the morning.

Hajime seems to see what's on his mind, so he glances at the clock as well and clicks with his tongue. "Looks like it's time to go to bed. Are you still hungry?" he asks as he faces him again; after all they haven't even finished eating their dinner.

Tooru thinks about it for a while. Now that he's focused on it, he __is_ _ hungry, but if they don't go to sleep now, like hell they'll be able to get up tomorrow. Hajime notices his expression and figures out immediately what his concern might be. He sighs and then moves away the ice from his knee, laying it back on the tray next to him. __'This one isn't needed anymore.'_ _

"We are staying home tomorrow, so if you're hungry, I can take here what's left from dinner."

Tooru flinches, confused. " _We_ are staying home? I'm the one with the screwed leg... You don't have to skip lessons because of me, Iwa-chan..." Hajime shakes his head. "I can't let you stay here on your own. Being the idiot you are, you'd probably fall down the stairs and die. And then your parents would kill me as well."

Tooru pouts. "That's so mean, Iwa-chan."

"But it's true. I'll take these away then. I'll be right back."

With that, he gathers everything he has brought with himself before, stands up and hurries his way to the kitchen.

He puts the ice back into the freezer and then puts the painkillers next to the sink, so everything's ready for tomorrow morning when Tooru wakes up - what he took tonight should barely hold on till then -. He then goes to the living room and grabs the two pizza boxes and the two empty glasses. He takes the slices and puts them in two separate plates and warms them up in the microwave one by one. He then pours the orange juice.

When the food's warm enough, he lays the plates back onto the tray and returns upstairs where Tooru is waiting for him. He sits on the same spot he was before. next to Tooru's futon and puts the tray on the floor. Tooru immediately grabs his plate, putting it in his lap and taking a bite. He's surprised to notice it's warm.

"You remembered to warm it up."

"You don't like cold food."

"You really know me well, don't you?"

"You even said it before, you idiot. I actually listen to what comes out of that mouth of yours."

Tooru pouts, but he can't help to be glad. "That's mean... You make it sound as if I, the great Oikawa-san, don't listen to what my Iwa-chan says."

Hajime snorts at the way he came out with that sentence, but doesn't comment on it. "It's the truth."

They finish eating rather quickly, and Hajime takes the tray to his table. He doesn't really feel like returning downstairs for the umpteenth time. He'll clean up in the morning; there's no one else home to scold him anyway. He stands up only tp switch the light off and then heads to his bed, lying down on it and pulling the covers over himself, but not before checking on the floor for Tooru one last time. He's getting ready to sleep as well.

Tooru turns his head to look at Hajime and notices his back is turned towards him. __'He must be tired,'_ _ he thinks, but it should be obvious after such a day. He doesn't say anything, but something's still missing.

He licks his lips, stands up carefully - he can still feel some pain - and gets under Hajime's covers. He puts his hand on his shoulder and turns him around.

Hajime looks at him; it's dark, but he's still able to see Tooru's expression. It's soft, but his eyes are fixed on him, piercing every part of him.

"What's wr-"

Tooru kisses him.

It's one of the gentlest kisses he has ever given him and Hajime finds himself melting into it. He raises his arm and wraps it around the setter's neck, pulling him down and burying his hand in his hair. Tooru takes the move as an invitation to go further and licks his bottom lip, making him gasp and open his mouth. His tongue slides in his mouth and Hajime accepts it, moving his own with it and deepening the kiss.

They pull away a minute later, breathless, and Tooru takes his time to enjoy the sight underneath him and for some time and the thought of almost losing all of this is just...

He kisses him again, because he needs it so badly - to send away everything that's bothering him. And he takes his time to enjoy it; he moves his hands over his body as if making sure he's really there. And Hajime welcomes him in, letting out a moan when he feels Tooru's hand caressing his neck and smiling into the kiss and can't but do the same as he feels his body being pulled closer to the setter's.

They don't go further though. None of them wants to mess up the moment, though none of them would refuse if the other asked for more. It's be better if they just stay like this. It feels warmer. When they finally pull away from each other, Hajime shifts and moves back and makes space for Tooru next to him. Tooru turns around to reach down to the futon and grabs his pillow, and then gives a light peck on Hajime's lips before making himself comfortable as well. He looks at him one more time and can't help but smile.

Because he's right where he wants to be.

He feels Hajime's hand on his arm and sighs in relief. He is so tired he can't even keep his eyes open. "Good night, Iwa-chan." he mumbles quietly as he slowly dozes off and falls into a peaceful slumber.

"Good night."

***

Hajime doesn't let go of him for the rest of the night. Not even when Tooru shifts and he receives an elbow in his ribs and feels warm drool on his shirt. But tonight is about his setter. Everything as long as he is fine.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the edited chapter two. I'm sorry it's taking me so long to update, but I am very busy with school work, commissions and my other fic. 
> 
> ***
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and a big hug and thank you in advance for all the lovely Comments, Bookmarks and Kudos.
> 
> ***
> 
> Follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/mickytaka558)


	3. Oh. Shit.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Oi, you idiot. What's with that face?" Tooru looks up at him, pouting. "You're so mean, Iwa-chan. I haven't even done anything," he whines. He moves his gaze back to the court and it takes no more than a single second to realize Tobio's in front of him and something in his chest tugs. Once he saw Hajime walking towards him, he totally forgot about Tobio and now the little brat's in front of him . He feels his mouth dry, but tries to forget about it and keep his cool. "I see you're not alone."
> 
> "Huh?"
> 
> "Hello, Oikawa-san."
> 
> Hajime turns around, eyes widening in surprise. He didn't even notice the boy coming after him, otherwise he would've found an excuse to avoid it. The realization of their current situation falls upon him and he freezes.
> 
> Oh. Shit.
> 
> This can't possibly end well; this won't end well. He, as well as every single person in the gym, is aware that Tobio and Tooru should meet as rarely as possible. And by all means, the two of them must never, ever be left alone.
> 
> Or better, it is Tooru who mustn't be left alone with him.

It's been a week since Tooru hurt himself.

The day after it happened, the doctor ordered him to sit out of practice for at least two weeks and then come back in for a control routine. He was given a knee supporter and was ordered to wear it every single time he walks, climbs the stairs, practices – and even when he doesn't, if possible; because the more it's on, the better it is, because that way it should be able to help his leg up and lessen the pressure. Of course, rest is absolutely necessary and any kind of strain - _volleyball_ \- is strictly forbidden.

His parents didn't said much about it, they still don't. They know far too well what Tooru is like when it comes to his obsessions, but that doesn't mean they are going allow him to disobey to the orders - because yes, he is more than capable of doing so – and make sure he's under control for the time he needs to heal.

They ask Hajime to take care of it.

After all he is the  _ only one  _ Tooru listens to, whether he wants to or not, because Hajime just  _makes _ him and even lets him choose whether he wants to obey the good way or the bad.

And even this time, Hajime does his job well.

Far too well (for Tooru's taste).

Tooru sighs as he watches the small match between his teammates, and while he is forbidden to even step on the court, he is also forbidden to leave, because they - Hajime - want to make sure he doesn't wander off somewhere he won't to be seen and practice on his own.

_ Stupid Iwa-chan...  _

He hasn't tried his serve or any of his tosses for seven _fucking_ days and by now he's just craving for it so badly. He's more than aware that going to the field will make it painful not only for his knee, but for his whole leg, so, at least for now, he has no choice but to do his best to repress his needs.

He sighs again; at least he's allowed to stay in the gym to  _ watch _ . And at the moment, he can't help but wonder whether it is some kind of privilege or just a cruel torture.

He decides it's both.

Even if he himself has asked for it.

Not that he managed to obtain that permission so easily.

At first, the coach wanted him to stay away from the gym because he thought it'd be easier for a stubborn player like Tooru to stay away from practice if isolated from his beloved sport, because - once again - yes, he could put himself in worse conditions. He knows just how good Tooru is and he can't allow himself lose him. The team needs him.

He also asked Hajime to take care of it.

That time, however, Tooru wasn't happy with the decision – not that the forced rest has made him happy in any way, but at least he wanted to  _ be  _ there when his friends play – so he tried to sneak in countless times, not caring about the consequences, until eventually, that one time, Hajime found him – and from then on, every time - and kicked him out. After hearing Tooru's complains and realizing that, no matter how many times he yelled at him or hit him, he'd still try to go in. So he talked the coach into making the setter stay on the bench and  _ just  _ watch, swearing to kick his ass for good if he even dared to touch a ball or any of the equipment.

And now, there he is.

The cart with the balls is just a couple of meters away from him and he isn't allowed to even look at it for too long otherwise he'd get scolded in front of all of his teammates. 

He focuses back on the match, deciding to observe what his friends need to work on in the future, so he can at least help the team to get better when he's back. But it's  _ so _  not enough. There's no way he could be so optimistic about his role.

Not when Kageyama Tobio is the setter.

On the same team as Hajime.

Every toss of his feels like a punch in his face. It makes him so angry, just like it did every  _ fucking _ day of this  _ fucking _ week  _ his _ spiker spent practicing with Kageyama _ fucking _ Tobio and not with  _ him _ .

The young setter just keeps getting better and better, and being in the condition he is in, Tooru feels like throwing up. The nervousness has back since a while and is preventing him to sleep at night. Even though he's lacking plenty of strength, he just isn't able to collapse and rest for real. Because he's at risk. Because Tobio is getting stronger and closer.

He returns to reality when hears the whistle blow and realizes the match's over.

Hajime's - and Tobio's - team wins.

"Good job everyone! Take a small break and then let's get back to regular practice!" the coach speaks as he watches the players line up in front of him. "One more thing. We are having a practice match in three weeks, so make sure you're ready for it." He then glances at the winning team. "Good job, you guys. Iwaizumi, Kageyama, nice teamwork. I want to see more of that in the future games." He pauses and looks at Tooru for a moment before returning his eyes on Tobio. "Kageyama, if Oikawa won't be able to play by then, I'm counting on you to take his place."

Hajime clenches his fists, but decides to stay silent – he has learned not to interfere with the coach's decisions; Tooru is the perfect example. He glances at him, sees that the neutral expression has become a mix of shock and desperation as soon as those words came out of the coach's mouth.

_ Oh, shit. _

"Good job, Kageyama!" The other players praise him for a good moment before they make their way to their bags to refresh themselves, and he can't help but blush slightly as a smile appears on his face...

He is so happy.

Even if it was just a practice match between teammates, he got to play seriously.

And it felt amazing .

He looks around for Hajime and finds him standing not far away from him, still on the court.

"Iwaizumi-san!" Hajime turns to face him and raises an eyebrow at the happy expression on the younger boy's face. "Great job, Iwaizumi-san!" Seeing Tobio's sincere enthusiasm and satisfaction, Hajime can't help but smile and raises a hand to ruffle the boy's hair. "You were the one who tossed to me. So you did a greater job than me."

When he draws back his hand, he looks up towards the benches and finds Tooru still sitting there, in the exact same place he was on before; and he's watching -  _ staring _  at them. Even though he isn't close to him, and doesn't see him clearly, he knows he should go there.

He'd better check on him.

Without speaking a word more, he approaches the benches.

Tobio watches him move away, and once he understands where he's going, he follows him. This is his occasion to  _ finally  _ talk to Tooru. They still haven't exchanged a word since school started - and that was almost two months ago – and he wants to talk to him about so many things.  _ 'Maybe I can finally ask him to teach me something.' _

"Oi, you idiot. What's with that face?" Tooru looks up at him, pouting. "You're so mean, Iwa-chan. I haven't even done anything," he whines. He moves his gaze back to the court and it takes no more than a single second to realize Tobio's in front of him and something in his chest tugs. Once he saw Hajime walking towards him, he totally forgot about Tobio and now the little brat's  _ in front of him  _ . He feels his mouth dry, but tries to forget about it and keep his cool. "I see you're not alone."

"Huh?"

"Hello, Oikawa-san."

Hajime turns around, eyes widening in surprise. He didn't even notice the boy coming after him, otherwise he would've found an excuse to avoid it. The realization of their current situation falls upon him and he freezes.

_ Oh. Shit. _

This can't possibly end well; this  _ won't _  end well. He, as well as every single person in the gym, is aware that Tobio and Tooru should meet as rarely as possible. And by all means, the two of them must never,  _ ever _  be left alone.

Or better, it is  _ Tooru _  who mustn't be left alone with him.

Hajime gets ready for anything that could come out from the older setter, trying not to show his worry until something actually happens. He knows he's frustrated once again; after all, he's forced to stay away from practice and watching the game they organized without being able to participate along with the coach's final words must have added more irritation to the whole thing.

He's waiting for it, and from what he knows, it's going to be a violent reaction.

What he gets though, is nothing like that; Tooru just nods his head in response to the boy's words but doesn't consider him too much. His eyes get back tto meet Hajime's and he smirks. "Nice game, Iwa-chan. But are you sure you're not trying to hard? It's not an official match and even if it was, no one would be looking at you."

A vein pops on Hajime's forehead; he turns around and walks to the net. So much about worrying... He's the same idiot as always... Tooru yelps as he sees him picking a ball and stands up quickly, looking around for a place to hide. "W-wait, Iwa-chan! I was kidding... I was- I'm not allowed to touch the ball- Ouch!"

The ball hits him and then bounces down on the floor.

"Do you want more, Assikawa?!"

"No!"

"Then shut the hell up!"

With that, Tooru sits back down and notices Tobio's been watching the whole scene, an eyebrow raised. "What's wrong?" he asks him and Tobio seems to wake up from his daze, immediately shaking his head. "N-nothing! Everything's fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Y-yeah," he stutters and then pauses, thinking about something. He then opens his mouth as if wanting to say something else, but eventually ends up closing it without letting out a sound. Tooru tilts his head to the side and looks at Hajime, whose eyes are still glued on him and are studying him, trying to read what's going on in his mind... Or better: trying to figure out a way to  _ keep down _  what's going on in his mind.

And Tooru tries his best to do the same. He mustn't think about it...

But it's so hard.

Every single muscle in his body is trembling and just begging him to jump on his feet and kick that little fucker in front of him for existing. He's soon going to become another Wakatoshi and Tooru wants to prevent that from happening with all his might.

Figuring his thoughts, Hajime concludes it'd be better if he sent Tobio away, but from what he's seen, the boy is oblivious to Tooru's resentment, even if  _ everyone  _ _knows about it, no words or actions needed. This means he needs to a good reason to convince him and take him away. And there's only one way._

"Well then, I guess we should return to practice."

Tobio looks at him, looking slightly disappointed. "Sure. Umm, Iwaizumi-san, could you help me with my tosses some more?" he asks in the end, and before giving him an answer Hajime takes a minute to consider the situation. Tooru's not looking at them anymore, but it's obvious he's not pleased with it and the only thing preventing him to snap is the large number of people, coach included, in the gym.

_ It isn't Kageyama's fault, _ Hajime thinks. Or maybe it is, but he's not doing it on purpose. Tooru's jealousy is fed by the younger boy's talent, though Tobio didn't really ask for it.

He smiles and picks the ball he's just hit Tooru's head with and points to the field. "Sure. You go ahead. I'll be coming in a second."

Tobio nods enthusiastically and looks one more time at Tooru, smiling. "Ne, Oikawa-san. I hope you get better soon." With that, he takes the ball from Hajime's hands and heads to the court, leaving the two alone. They stay silent for a while, before Tooru finally speaks: "You should go, or your body will cool down."

Hajime raises an eyebrow. "Are you really okay with that?"

"Don't worry about it."

"You aren't. Why-"

"It's okay, Iwa-chan. Just go." Tooru's voice gives it all out. He doesn't want him to go, but he's still telling him to because he knows Hajime needs to get used to him. Just in case he doesn't make it to play in that practice match. No one ever said that if Tooru isn't able to participate, then Hajime shouldn't do so either.

This time he's not being selfish.

"I'll make it up to you," Hajime says when he turns his back to him.

"You'd better keep your promise, Iwa-chan." He fakes one of his usual smiles, and it pisses Hajime off to no end, because there's nothing he can do about it. Hajime says nothing to that sentence and returns to the court, ready to practice with his new temporary partner.

And as Tooru watches him walk away, he can't help but realize he misses him. Not as a person, because they're together every day, but as his spiker. It's been so long since he has last tossed to him and... What if he still won't be able to do it for a long time in the future?

_ "Ne, Oikawa-san. I hope you get better soon." _

He feels anger boiling inside of him. Tobio's getting to play with Hajime and is also being nice to _  him  _ .

It's hard to bear.

He _really feels like throwing up._

He grips his thighs tight and grits his teeth.

He watches.

Tobio tosses.

And Hajime hits the ball making it land perfectly on the other side of the net.

And it's amazing; the strength, the form... Everything.

He curses under his breath, feeling his eyes burn and something in his chest starts to hurt, much different from before.

_ That damn brat. _

_ *** _

"Nice toss, Kageyama! Try to send the next one a little higher though. It's easier like that for me,” Hajime says as he lands from his jump.

Tobio nods and grabs another ball from the floor and as he sees it, Hajime gets ready to jump again, but before he manages to break the contact with the ground again, Tobio looks down.

"Ne, Iwaizumi-san."

"What is it?"

Tobio seems to think about it for a moment and Hajime tilts his head to the side, confused. "Is everything alright?" he asks. Suddenly Tobio's eyes move back for the umpteenth time that day on Tooru, who's still where they left him and is fumbling with his cellphone and obviously not paying attention to the two of them.

As if feeling reassured by the lack of attention, Tobio takes a deep breath and finally asks. "Iwaizumi-san, will Oikawa-san get back to play soon?"

"Huh?" For a moment, Hajime thinks he failed to hear it right, but as the minutes go by, and Tobio's eyes are fixed on his own by now waiting for an answer, he laughs.

_ This can't be possible. _

Tobio flinches. "Iwaizumi-san..."

"Don't worry about him. Of course he is. His body is just a bit tired; once it gets some proper rest, he'll be back. He's just fine," he reassures him. After listening his words, Tobio's attention's caught once again by the older setter on the bench.  _'Then why does he look so sad?'_   __ He doesn't ask that though.

He figures he won't be looking like that when he's back on the court. He's going to feel better.

So when that happens, he decides, he's going to ask him to teach him how to serve.

***

"Alright everyone! Practice's over! See ya tomorrow!"

"Thank you very much!"

After greeting the coach, the players start to clean up the gym before they get back to the changing rooms.

Tooru observes every single one of them carefully, sitting on the bench as usual. No one bothers to ask his help for anything, so he doesn't bother to stand up and give it to them on his own. His gaze shifts from them to the court, which isn't empty as it should be. Because the two of them are still there, talking. They've been going at it for quite a while and Tooru can't help but wonder what the subject of their conversation may be.  _ Probably a new strategy... _

Some teammates join them when they're called in for an opinion, but they talk so damn quietly that Tooru doesn't catch a word of it.

When everything's done, the others head to the locker rooms.

Hajime and Tobio are the last ones to leave the court, as expected.

They've been together since they left Tooru and didn't split for a second. The progress they made is visible even after two mere hours: Hajime's become used to the young setter's tosses and by now, every single one of them lands on the other side of the net as if they had been playing together for years.

Before going to change, they approach Tooru one more time – Hajime leads, and Tobio follows him just like before – and stop in front of him. Hazel eyes raise up to meet gray and Tooru tries his best to pull off a smile. Hajime knows it's so fake and just crosses his arms over his chest, waiting. Tobio's the one to break the silence though, making his way between them and grinning. "Iwaizumi-san's really amazing, Oikawa-san. You're lucky to train with him all the time." His voice is full of enthusiasm and he looks like a child who just got to do the most amazing thing in the world, and once again, he seems oblivious to the glare he's receiving from the older setter.

"I guess I am..." he mumbles, returning to look at Hajime.

The spiker's eyes have never left him and from what they've seen, Tooru isn't going to last long. He should probably send him home to sleep, because he's gotten way too many bad surprises today and his leg also must've given him some problems, since he avoided to move around too much even during school hours, except to change places and heading from his classroom to the gym.

And Tobio is most likely the last person he wants to have in front of his eyes right now.

"Let's go to change, Kageyama."

Tobio looks at him, pouting slightly: he  _ really _  wants to stay there more; and Hajime isn't sure if it's more practice he wants or rather Tooru's company - because the second option is so evident -, but he can't let him have any of that at the moment. Not when his best friend is on the edge of breaking his neck with his bare hands.

It's not healthy.

"Come on." he repeats and motions him with his hand, inviting him to follow and this time, he complies immediately. Before turning to the hall, Hajime glances at Tooru one last time, without meeting his gaze though, because his head is already turned to the other side.

Tooru doesn't want to see them. He doesn't really want to keep having the genius right there, because he feels like he's getting closer to lose control more and more with every time the damn brat walks in front of him. And he's sick of it. He wants to get back to practice; he wants to work on his serve and his tosses; he wants his team and he wants his Iwa-chan back.

But all of that is still so distant.

_ One more week like this... _

He groans and grabs his head with his hands, gripping his hair tightly.

He can't pull this off; he feels like he's going crazy. He already barely holds himself back and there are still seven days more to wait... There's no way he'll be able to keep his cool for that long. He needs to do something... Anything.

His breathing gets heavier as panic starts to grow and for a moment, he holds his breath and looks around to see if anyone's watching. When he realizes he's alone, a thought crosses his mind. His eyes focus on a ball not too far away from him that his teammates forgot to pick up and take away before. His blood is rushing through his veins and he can feel it boiling, burning him with each passing second.

_ Just once... _

He knows he shouldn't be having this kind of thoughts.

But he  _ needs _  it.

He stands up slowly and takes unsure steps towards it. It feels weird, because he still isn't used to his knee supporter; he's never had anything tight like that wrapped around his leg and even if it's been seven days since it's been on, it still feels weird. Yet, he has to admit, it's easier to move.

When he finally reaches the ball, he stares at it for a good minute before finally bending and picking it up.

He sighs; the familiar feeling of it in his hands is finally back and only now he remembers how good it feels. It makes him unconsciously grip it tighter. He turns around and watches the court.

_ Just once won't hurt... Will it? _

He move behind the white field line and takes in a deep breath. This is it.

"Very well, Kageyama... I'll see ya tomorrow then."

"Yes, Iwaizumi-san! Good night!"

Tooru doesn't even have the time to throw it away and finds himself unable to move. He straightens his back and turns towards the entrance of the hall from which he hears footsteps he figures are Hajime's and a couple of seconds later, he's coming out from there.

When he sees what's in his hands, Hajime stiffens.

"What are you doing?"

Tooru swallows, a chill runs down his spine.  _ Calm down. You didn't do anything... It's okay. _

His lips curve up slightly. "You guys forgot to put this one away so I thought I'd do it while you were changing. I have nothing else to do here anyway." Without waiting for a reply, he makes his way to the storage room, feeling Hajime's presence close behind him, and puts it in the corner with the others.

When he turns around, Hajime's standing in front of him, his face a few inches away from his own. He's so close he can feel his warm breath on his lips and for a moment, he looks like he's going to kiss him.

"Is everything alright?"

He doesn't.

Hearing those words coming out of his mouth, Tooru makes a step back and waves his hand. "Don't worry, Iwa-chan... Let's go." Without adding anything else, he walks past him to get out and heads to where his bag is. And Hajime follows again, the same distance still between them. Once they pick them up, they walk out of the gym, Hajime locking it since the coach has left the keys to him for the night.

They walk slowly, Hajime taking the lead at some point, and Tooru staying behind. None of them speak and Hajime finds himself wondering why it's been such a common thing recently.

Most people would expect Tooru to be a lot more talkative than he actually is, but not Hajime. He knows that Tooru doesn't babble on as much as people think he does. He can, of course, if he needs to – he's a good talker and knows far too well how to sustain a conversation long enough to keep any awkwardness away when he's with people he's not too familiar with. But when with him, Hajime knows that Tooru doesn't feel the need to try to keep up banal conversation and it's okay to just be quiet when it's just the two of them alone - except when there's  _ really something Tooru wants to talk about _  and starts rambling until he says it all.

And yet, Hajime thinks, in a moment like this having him talking non-stop about some random crap wouldn't be so bad... Especially now that there keeps getting less of it as time goes by and he kind of misses the idiot Tooru who kept coming out saying stupid things even out of context. The silence too isn't the usual type, but is more tense and uncomfortable than Hajime ever thought could be possible. He wonders if it'll get better eventually, when his leg heals and he gets back to the court.

He  _ hopes _  it will be better.

Even because there is nothing he can do about it anyway, and honestly these awkward moments between them shouldn't take place anymore; they leave a strange sensation in his chest and there's nothing pleasant in it. He just doesn't want to feel that way around him.

He holds back a sigh and keeps walking, concentrating on the sound of Tooru's footsteps behind him. They are a couple of steps from his house, when that sound suddenly stops and he immediately finds himself turning around. "What is it?"

Tooru looks at him. "You're home."

Hajime raises an eyebrow.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

And Hajime stiffens. Tooru's eyes are still fixed on his but they aren't looking at him. They don't even look like they belong to him. It's been a week since he started to act like this but he just can't get used to it.

Because this is  _ not _  Tooru.

"Do you want to come in?" he asks anyway, stunning himself with the helplessness he hears in his own words. Because he wants him to come in so badly and make sure nothing's wrong between them. Tooru has always accepted and stayed a while longer – sometimes the whole night – even if he rarely asked him to. He's never turned him down, so he won't do it now... _Right?_

And yet, for the first time-

"Sorry, Iwa-chan, but I think I'll pass for today. I'm... Tired."

Hajime feels something tug in his chest: he never though a _'sorry'_ could actually hurt this badly if spoken in a moment like this. He doesn't move from his spot, still hoping Tooru will suddenly start to laugh and tell him he's joking. He feels heavy, not sure about what to do. This has never happened before.

"Are you sure? I told you I'd make it up to you. I have milk break and we could-"

_ 'What am I saying?' _   He feels his throat getting dry. It doesn't take him long before he realizes he's actually being desperate, and there are so many things rushing through his mind that he doesn't even know what's causing it.

"Maybe another time, Iwa-chan."

He clenches his fists and gets closer to Tooru, who fortunately doesn't move from the spot and lets him lessen the distance between them. He takes his time to take a closer look at him. And he curses himself for not having done that a while ago, because maybe he could've avoided the sight he was in front in this very moment.

Tooru's eyes are shallow, his skin much paler than usual and there are black bags under his eyes. He hasn't been sleeping and Hajime doesn't understand why he wasn't able to notice it until now. Sure, these days they haven't been together as much as usual, since Tooru wasn't active during practice and a couple of times he even had to leave earlier for a check up at the doctor's.

But he doesn't accept any of those as a good excuse for his own negligence.

"You're really in a bad shape." He speaks before even being able to think.

Usually Tooru would whine and tell him how rude he is, but this time he pulls off a sad smile and shrugs his shoulders. "I guess I am."

And it's not only physical. It goes beyond that.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I'm tired, Iwa-chan."

"I have a bed, you know."

Tooru sighs, lowering his head.  He says nothing in return and just shakes his head and Hajime knows he mustn't put any more pressure on him, so he just nods and turns around towards his house. He walks slowly towards it and just when he's about to enter the gate, Tooru calls out to him.

"Iwa-chan..."

He turns back.

"What if I don't heal in time for our next game?"

Hajime holds his breath, eyes wide. He's never even considered the possibility of Tooru  _ not _  healing at all, because he  _ is _  going to heal and everything's going to be fine again. But he's also never considered the possibility of him not healing  _ in time _ . The realization of him not playing in an actual match with another team – even if just for a practice game – is something that has never even crossed his mind.

Tooru's expression says it all and the least Hajime can do is try to say – do - something to change it. But right now he's just created a doubt to himself and he's going to have to deal with it.

"You're going to be fine."

He's not even convinced of his own words, so it's not a surprise Tooru doesn't fall for it.

"How can you know that? It's been a week and my leg hasn't gotten better at all. It still hurts like hell and there are only three weeks before the match..." Tooru's words are loud and cold and there's nothing of his usual cheerful tone in it and Hajime knows that if he doesn't come up with something right now, he's going to break down completely.

"Hey... It's going to be alright. Come inside and let's talk about it." Hajime tries one last time, not really wanting to put up a scene for the neighbors. It's dinner time and nobody would want to be disturbed by a fight between school boys.

"I DON'T WANT TO COME IN!" Tooru screams. His body starts to shake from the mixture of feelings and Hajime realizes he's going to have to deal with it right here and right now.

But he needs to be careful.

"The pain can't stop in such a little time. You messed it up quite badly, but it won't be like this forever. Be patient and let it rest and you'll be fine by then." Hajime hopes his tone sounds better this time but finds out he's wrong when Tooru's eyes widen and he grits his teeth. "There's no time to be patient... I need to get back to practice!"

"It'll get worse if you do it immediately!"

"I don't want to be subbed out!"

And Hajime has enough. "I don't want that either!" He's shouting as he speaks; with all the noise Tooru has made, the neighbors are probably aware of them already so there's no point in trying to avoid it. "Do you think it's nice having to play with a guy I've only known for a couple of months instead of the idiot I've known since I was a kid?!" Tooru gasps, not expecting that kind of reaction. "But you know what? I'd rather keep playing with him... or _not play at all_ if you getting back would mean you screwing yourself even more!"

That hurt. Tooru knows he means it and is deeply concerned about his health, but hearing he'd rather exchange him with Tobio still hurts, no matter what the reason behind it might be.

"So right now... You prefer Kageyama, huh?" All the previous anger in Tooru's voice disappears and his tone suddenly quiets down and Hajime figures out he probably chose the wrong words to say, even if they represent what's truly on his mind. But he doesn't want to start a fight, because none of them is strong enough to handle it.

"I didn't mean it like that." He shakes his head in denial and Tooru clenches his fists. "But you just said it!"

"I don't wanna fight, Oikawa."

"You-"

"Go home." Hajime makes his decision.

"What?"

"Go home."

Hajime doesn't want to say these words so seriously, but if he kept quiet and continued to try to calm Tooru down without success, the situation would have gotten worse and they'd be back to the evening of one week ago. Hajime sighs and looks away. "Try to get some rest; you need it."

With that he turns around and finally walks to his door and before opening it glances back at Tooru, who's still standing in the same place, silently. He says nothing as he watches him finally move to turn around and walk away towards his own house and, just for a moment, Hajime regrets asking that of him but the feeling vanishes as soon as a possible consequence of them screaming at each other pops in his mind.

_ It's just for tonight...It's better like this. _

He takes a deep breath and finally walks in his house. When he shuts the door close, he leans on it with his back.

"I'm back."

_It's better like this._

At least for now, until they both get themselves back together.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yey! I finally got myself together and uploaded this. I swear, I've been feeling guilty for, like... Two months now? Maybe even more, because I keep neglecting this work even though I worked so hard to plan it and make it perfect. 
> 
> UshiOi just takes all my time... *sighs* I'm so glad you arebeing patient with me and haven't already organized a killer to put me out of my misery, haha. So here are two chapters for you! I hope you're going to enjoy them.
> 
> ***
> 
> Thank you in advance for all the Comments, Kudos and Bookmarks. They really mean a lot to me!
> 
> ***
> 
> If you're interested in chatting with me, feel free to contact me on my [Twitter](https://twitter.com/mickytaka558) or [Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/Mickytaka558s-ART-711577285537661/?fref=ts) . I'd love to have someone to talk with about Haikyuu!! or even only Oikawa-san and all the possible couples people put him in, haha.


	4. I Crave Sleep

Tooru wishes he never put himself in a situation like this. Hearing _those_  words with  _that_  tone of voice was just too much for him and he can't help but wonder when has it all started to go wrong. He and Hajime have been friends since they were kids and during all those years they've never had a fight or any difficult situations. But it seems that, with this school year's beginning, everything is just turning around.

Hajime is just trying his best to be there for him whenever he needs him - and even when he pretends he doesn't - but it seems that all Tooru's able to do in return is to push him away. If Tooru were a person with a smaller ego, he would've taken the situation in another way and would've most likely avoided lots of things that happened between them.

Too bad he's not like that.

Even though he's been trying to convince himself he's got nothing to do with this and that everything and everyone are just picking on him, deep inside he knows that almost everything is his own fault - the injury, the fear, _the weakness_  - because it's him who's bringing all of it on himself, but he'll never admit that – sometimes he does, to himself, but never aloud.

There are very few things he actually regrets. It's not that he thinks everything he does is right - well, most of it _is_ \- but he believes most things that may not be positive, but stil aren't regrettable. He's not used to it, because he doesn't really believe he's done bad things in the past. He may have broken a girl's heart – maybe (definitely) it was more than just one girl – and messed around quite a lot, but he isn't planning to stop; those were just normal things for a school boy of his age. So it's okay to be like that. 

This time is one of the rare occasions he finds himself regretting some of his actions.

Maybe he should've kept his thoughts about not healing in time in his head and accept Hajime's proposal to come to his house. He could've brought it up eventually and maybe he could've let Hajime reassure him. Or he could've just avoided to bring anything up at all and just keep it to himself like he's been doing for the past seven days.

At least he wouldn't have to spend  _another_  night on his own.

He shakes his head to chase away the thoughts and speeds up his walking towards his house. It's getting dark and he really needs to lie down and put his leg to rest. If it hadn't hurt that much for the whole day, maybe he would've been in a better mood than he is right now.

It feels like it's taking him forever to reach home and he doesn't know if it's because he's been walking so slowly or if it's because he took different – slightly longer – route to get there.

Whatever it is, he doesn't really mind, because he needs his time to think.

His thoughts return to Hajime – a bit of cold isn't going to kill him; he's close to his destination anyway – and he's wondering how he's doing. He was really upset before, maybe even more than Tooru himself was and he knows it's because of him. It's always because of him and his selfish being.

At least he was able to spend his afternoon practicing hard. Tooru's hands curl in fists, his knuckles turning white at the memory of him and Tobio playing together in that small match. _It should've been him..._

Another thing Tooru doesn't admit openly is jealousy.

People notice it in his behavior, but he never lets it out loud. This time the object of his jealousy is Tobio – the first time it happened it was because of Wakatoshi – and all the people in the gym are aware of that. Tobio, however, somehow still seems oblivious to it and Tooru doesn't know if he should be relieved about that or not. If he knew, maybe it would be easier for him to stay away from him, to avoid situations like the one from before.

He muses about it for a while and then decides it's better like this.

At least there won't be some more direct and unwanted tension in the team – as if Tooru hasn't already created enough of it – and maybe, as time goes by, Tooru will be able to ignore it and then go to high school and leave it all behind. Wakatoshi is - must be, because it's all he can allow himself - his only goal.

Yet, he first has to deal with Hajime; because without him nothing will ever go forward. He needs to focus on healing first and then he must get his spiker back with him on full time.

He suddenly stops and looks up, realizing he got home. He finds it kind of amusing how long it seemed to take and now here he is.

He doesn't lose any more time outside and goes in. The lights are turned on, which means at least one of his parents is home and as he opens the door and says a loud "I'm back", he finds his mother coming out of the kitchen.

"Welcome home, Tooru. How's your leg?"

Tooru decides not to tell her it hurts. She doesn't need to worry. "Everything's fine, mom."

The woman observes him and can immediately tell he's lying – after all, she knows her son better than anyone – but he doesn't seem in the mood to talk about it, so she just pretends to believe him. "Dinner's going to be ready soon."

"Actually, mom..." He maintains his voice cheerful and relaxed, pulling out a smile. "I'm kinda tired, so I'm going to skip today and go straight to bed."

"Are you sure? Do you not feel well?"

"No, mom. Don't worry. I just had a rough day."

"Fine, but if you change your mind just come down and I'll warm it up. Okay?"

"Okay."

With that he heads upstairs to his room and once he's in, he slides the door close. He drops his bag on the floor and unrolls his futon and puts his pillow on it. Once his bed is ready, he slides out of his gym clothes and throws them on the floor. He then takes his school uniform out of his bag and puts it on the hanger, ready for tomorrow.

He grabs his pajamas and puts it on and once he's fully dressed, he lets himself fall on the soft mattress and sighs. It's good to finally relax – for his leg especially – after such a heavy day. And to think there are still going to be lots of them coming up in the future makes him feel surprisingly weak.

He's sick of this constant bad mood. It's making him ruin everything dear to him and he wants it to stop.

He rolls over so he's lying on his side and looks at the gym uniform on the floor.  _'Iwa-chan...'_  He decides to apologize right now - it's too long to wait for tomorrow - and holds out his hand and reaches for his pants. He digs his hand in his pocket, pulling out his iPhone. He then returns in his previous position. He looks at the ceiling for a moment.

_'What do I say, though?'_

He's really been mean to him. If he just hadn't reacted like that maybe he wouldn't be feeling guilty and  _alone_  in his bed right now. He huffs in frustration and finally starts to type a new message for Hajime.

_"Are you still awake?"_

He presses send and then is about to lay the phone down next to him, but before he manages to even move his hand, the phone vibrates and the screen lights up.

_"Yeah."_

Tooru is tempted to write a teasing message like 'have you been waiting for me to text you?' but decides against it. It's not a moment for idiot jokes right now. He needs to be careful with his words.

_"I'm sorry about before... Are you still mad at me?"_

He hesitates to send it, but he does eventually and this time he doesn't even bother to think about putting the phone down; he keeps it in his hand and stares at it until a new message from Hajime pops up on the screen. He takes in a deep breath and opens it.

_"I'm not mad."_

Tooru believes him. It's not like Hajime to lie to him; he's always told him what was on his mind, whether it was nice or not - so if he's saying he's not mad, then he isn't. And yet, Tooru doesn't know what to tell him now, because another simple 'I'm sorry' isn't enough and there's nothing else coming in his mind at the moment. Usually there are tons of random things he would write to him, but the situation is too dalicate and leaves him wordless.

Suddenly his phone lights up again.

_"How's your leg?"_

Tooru finds himself smiling.  _'I'm such an idiot.'_ And yet he feels guilt tugging in his chest more than before, even though things are apparently okay between them. But it just isn't fair from him.

_"It hurts a little, but nothing to be worried about. I'm resting."_

The reply comes a minute later.

_"You finally got that in that thick head of yours."_

Tooru laughs.

_"Don't spoil the moment, Iwa-chan!"_

He then adds something more to it.  _"I really mean it. I'm sorry about before. I've been acting like an idiot lately."_  He sighs and sends it. When the phone vibrates again, he doesn't open the message immediately. He should be telling Hajime all these things aloud and in person.

He bites his lip and reads the text.

" _Don't worry about it."_

Another smile makes its way on his lips and this time he types in the number he learned by heart long ago and presses the call button. Hajime answers after not even five seconds.

"Hello, Iwa-chan." Tooru tries to sound cheerful, but something's off, and the grunt he hears on the other side means Hajime can tell.

And he knows.

"I said it's okay. I accept your apology, so quit whining."

"I'm not whining!"

"Now you are, Trashykawa!"

"Mean!"

Tooru can't help but feel happy because of the insult, because Hajime insults him only when everything's alright between them. He's also glad because Hajime, unlike him, isn't the type of person to hold grudges and he constantly reminds himself to look up to him in that section. But he never does, because not holding grudges wouldn't be him. He thanks God for the way Hajime is, otherwise he would've already put an end to their friendship a long time ago.

He's silent for a few seconds, before he takes in a deep breath.

"Ne, Iwa-chan..."

"What?"

Hajime's tone is quieter than usual and Tooru thinks he might – definitely is – be tired and is not sure if it'd be good to ask him what he's planning to. But he can make it better. For both of them.

"Can you come over?"

Hajime doesn't answer on the other side of the line and Tooru bites his lip. "Please..."

"Oikawa..."

" _Please._ "

"I think it's better if you get some rest..."

"But-"

"On your own."

Tooru covers his eyes with his free hand.  _Goddammit._

"Iwa-chan... I don't want to be alone." His voice is quiet, trembling and his chest starts to hurt. He doesn't understand why he's refusing him. He said he isn't angry and... Of course. "I already said I'm sorry..."

"It's not because of that."

"Then what is it?"

He hears Hajime sigh and he stops breathing.

"You were quite clear about it before. You said you were tired and wanted to get some rest."

"Iwa-ch-"

" _No._ I'll see you tomorrow."

Tooru grimaces. How mean of Hajime to use his words against him – even though he _did_  say that. But still... He doesn't want it to be like that; Hajime doesn't seem available for a change of mind either, therefore he must accept it.

Fortunately Hajime doesn't hang up on him, so Tooru still has a chance.

"Can you at least pick me up tomorrow before school?"

There is a moment of silence and Tooru really starts to worry that Hajime actually is becoming like him.

"Of course."

And Tooru smiles.

He feels as if a huge weight's been lifted from his body.

"Same time."

"Okay."

"Ne, Iwa-chan..."

"Mmh?"

Tooru holds his breath. "I'll be seeing you tomorrow, then?"

"Yeah, tomorrow." Hajime's voice is firm but kind and when it's like that, Tooru knows there are no other meanings behind it. He's not resenting him for being an idiot and to Tooru, that is enough. 

"Goodnight, Iwa-chan..."

"Goodnight."

They end the call at the same moment and as soon as he presses the red button, Tooru lays the phone down on the floor next to the futon. He then sighs and sits up to grab his covers and pull them over himself before returning to his lying position. He shifts a couple of times and then relaxes.

His leg still hurts a little, but it's much better now. It's easier to bear and at least for tonight, he won't need any painkillers.

The futon feels really nice, he notices. He rarely thinks about it, especially since he sleeps on it every night so he should be used to it. But tonight it's different... pleasing. And he doesn't know if it's because he's tired for real or what, but decides to not think about it and just enjoy it.

Sure, it would feel even better if Hajime were with him, because it'd be much warmer, but he can keep it like this for now. He hopes he'll be able to sleep tonight so he can make up for the damage the past week's insomnia brought to him.

He closes his eyes slowly, another sigh escaping his mouth.

Hajime  _is_ going to be there in the morning.

He feels himself slowly drifting away, his lips curving up slightly.

***

Tooru wakes up when his mother barges in his room and tells him to do so, otherwise he'll have to do everything in a hurry and that won't be a good way to start the day.

He rubs his eyes and then sits up, stretching. He glances on his side and at his phone and realizes he didn't hear his alarm ring at all – though it  _did_  ring; twice – and immediately takes a mental note to turn the volume even higher for the next morning.

He feels kind of relieved though, because after a whole week of insomnia and pain caused with every move he made, he actually managed to sleep well even if something's telling him it's still not enough. He feels his body ache slightly, as if begging him to lie back down and he can't believe he didn't care about how much stress he's been putting on it in the previous days. His leg still hurts, which means he'll have to take a painkiller after breakfast. Again. 

He slowly gets up from his futon and heads to the wall where his school uniform is and lazily takes it down. He then puts on his shirt, buttoning it up slowly and then puts on the pants, making sure to tug it in for good. He leaves the belt and the tie for last and then heads to the bathroom to wash his face.

The refreshing feeling of cold water makes most of the sleepiness vanish, but he still feels a slight strain in every muscle he uses; he doesn't mind that too much. When he warms up later on, it will go away. He dries himself up with the towel next to the sink and then looks at himself in the mirror.

He isn't pleased with the way he looks; lately he's been looking like a mess and the fact that nothing went away even after last night kind of pisses him off. The dark circles under his eyes are still there and it seems they would still be for a while. Those nine hours weren't enough to make up for anything the previous lack of sleep caused.

Not even a little.

"Tooru!"

His mother's voice snaps him out of his thoughts. "What is it?!"

"Hajime-kun's here, so hurry up and get down!"

His eyes widen and for a moment, everything around him stops. The memory of last night's fight is still vivid in his mind and keeps bothering him immensely, even though they already cleared it up. Deep inside, he was afraid Hajime wouldn't show up in the end, but it seems his fear really didn't need a place in there.  _'He's here.'_

He shakes his head and smiles. "I'm coming in a minute!" He then proceeds to brush his teeth and fix his hair and when he's done, he quickly stops back to his room to get his bag and jacket – which he puts on immediately – and then makes his way down.

Hajime's waiting him in the hall, right in front of the entrance and when he notices him coming down, he acknowledges him with a nod. "Morning." Tooru's smile grows wider as he gets closer. "Ya-hoo, Iwa-chan." He then turns to look at his mother and waves his hand. "We'll be going then."

The woman raises an eyebrow. "Eh? Don't you want your breakfast?"

"No, mom. I'm not hungry."

The woman narrows her eyes, visibly irritated by the answer. "Tooru."

"Yes?"

"You've been barely eating these days. It's not good for your health." Her voice is strict but deeply concerned with a touch of harshness and Tooru tries his best to keep his smile on even though he feels a chill run through his spine, just like when he's about to get kicked really hard by Hajime. "But mom-"

"No buts. Come into the kitchen right now."

"But we're going to be la-"

"We have time." Hajime speaks and Tooru turns to look at him, slightly surprised by the interruption. But then again, it was obvious he would've done this. Hajime's staring at him, annoyed as well, his arms now crossed over his chest. "Have your breakfast."

It sounds like (is) an order and, given the circumstances, Tooru cannot afford to talk back or disobey, so he just turns around and walks to the kitchen table, sitting down and laying his bag on the floor.

"Hajime-kun, do you want to eat something too?" Tooru's mother asks kindly after mouthing a soundless thank you to the boy. Hajime seems to think about it for a moment and then nods. "If it's not a trouble for you, why not?" he speaks and sits next to Tooru: maybe it'll be easier for him to eat if he joins him.

His mother sets everything on the table, first handing them each a large bowl of rice and then some miso soup, grilled fish and a couple of side dishes and Hajime can't help but notice there's a lot more food than there usually is; and he wonders if it's because Tooru's supposed to eat more today, because only in that case it would make sense.

"If you want more, feel free to take it. There's plenty of it anyway. I have to head to work now, so have a good day." After telling them that, she turns on her heel and walks out of the kitchen. A couple of minutes later, the two hear the front door shutting close.

When he's sure she isn't coming back, Tooru raises his gaze from his plate to Hajime, who was already staring at him from before. He gulps. "What is it, Iwa-chan?"

Hajime thinks about scolding him for skipping meals, but in the end, he decides not to. "Nothing. Keep eating." he says and returns his attention to his own food and apparently Tooru does the same, because he doesn't say anything else.

The rest of the breakfast is eaten in silence and when Hajime's done, he lays the chopsticks next to the plate and mumbles a quiet 'thanks for the meal'. He then stands up from his seat, picks up everything he used and takes it to the sink, placing everything down before turning around to look at the setter.

"Are you done?"

Tooru puts his chopsticks down as well and nods slightly and Hajime puts everything away for him as well. He glances at the clock and realizes they still have time, so he turns on the water, ready to wash everything up, but Tooru stands up quickly and turns it off before he even manages to wet his hands. "Don't."

Hajime flinches and focuses back on him. He opens his mouth to say something, but Tooru steps closer and kisses him. He's tense at first, slightly taken aback by the sudden action; even though Tooru has done the same thing plenty of times he just can't get used to it. Especially now that they had a fight. But eventually he relaxes and lets him do what he wants.

Tooru, on the other hand, doesn't want to waste any time around Hajime for stupid things. He wants to enjoy his company for as much as he can.

He puts his hands on his shoulders as he licks his lips before entering his mouth with his tongue. Hajime moans quietly and tries to pull away to breathe, but Tooru keeps him still, pushing him against the sink and pressing himself against him. When the lack of oxygen makes it impossible to keep up, Hajime turns his head to the side, panting and trying to regain his breath.

Tooru observes his flushed face and smirks in satisfaction, because he loves when  _his_  Iwa-chan looks like that because of him. He decides it's enough kissing, because he already got what he wanted and yet, he doesn't pull away from him, and just wraps his arms around him, burying his face in the crook of his neck.

Hajime instinctively raises his hand and buries it in Tooru's soft brown locks, pulling him impossibly closer. They stay like that for a while, until Hajime finally notices how limp the setter's body is against him. "Oi, are you okay?"

The brown-haired boy doesn't react immediately, but nods slightly only about a minute later.

"Let's go upstairs."

Tooru raises his head quickly, giving him a confused look.

"Iwa-chan, we have to go to school."

"You're not going anywhere."

"Huh?"

Hajime hits him on his head, snorting.

"Ouch! What was that for?!" he whines, a pout making its way on his face.

The spiker gets even more irritated by his childish behavior, once again unnecessary because he knows more than well that Tooru is aware of what he said. "Get going, Idiotkawa!" With that, Hajime pushes him away from him, while still holding his arm with one hand and moves towards the hall, dragging him along.

"Iwa-chan, I can walk on my own!"

"Shut up then and do so."

When he lets him go, Tooru follows and soon enough, he's back to his room with Hajime. He watches him slide the door close and then turn to face him. "What now, Iwa-chan? Don't tell me you want to-" He doesn't finish his sentence when he notices the murderous look meeting his.

"Get undressed."

"So lewd, Iwa-chan."

"What did you say?"

"N-nothing..."

Tooru proceeds to untie his tie and then lowers the zip of his pants, sliding them down his legs and stepping out of them. In the end, he gets rid of his shirt as well, remaining in front of the raven-haired boy only in his underwear. He looks around for his pajamas and wears it as Hajime picks up his school uniform and adjust it on the small table next to his computer.

By the time he's done, Tooru has finished changing and is standing still on the place he's been at since they got in.

"Get in bed and rest."

And Hajime understands what the matter is.

Tooru complies and gets down, crawling under the sheets and adjusting his pillow.

Hajime stays still, observing his every movement and making sure there weren't any strange ideas popping on his mind. He's not in the mood for dealing with his shit.

When the setter lets out a relaxed sigh, Hajime knows it's going to be okay from there on. He gets down on his knees to his side and finds Tooru's tired eyes fixed on him. "You okay?"

"Mhm."

"Good."

He straightens up and turns around, walking to the door, ready to leave, but Tooru interrupts him again. "Iwa-chan... After school, are you-"

"I'll come."

And Tooru shuts his mouth.

That's everything he needs to know.

He sighs and makes himself comfortable under the warm sheets and rolls on his side, finally closing his eyes as he feel the ache stop. "I'll see you later then?"

"Yes."

Hajime glances at him as he opens the door.

"Get some rest."

"Mhm."

By the time he's out of the room, he can already hear Tooru's soft snoring.  _'It didn't take him long,'_  he thinks as he makes his way down the stairs. He knows how strained he is and right now rest is going to do nothing but good to him.

He opens the front door and steps out, digging a hand in his bag to pull out a copy of the house's keys Tooru's mother gave him when they started their second year of junior high. The reason of that is the fact that Hajime's parents have been traveling quite a lot during the last year and, since their families have been in good terms for so long, Tooru's mother offered him to come to their place whenever he'd feel lonely at home.

He sighs and locks the door carefully so no one can come in and makes his way towards the school without many thoughts.

He's going to be back in the evening anyway.

***

When Tooru opens his eyes for the second time that day, the light in his room is turned on and for a moment, he feels confused - and still a bit sleepy - but he manages to sit up eventually. He looks out of his window and realizes it's getting dark outside and he can't help but wonder for how long he has slept.

"Oh, you're awake."

He gasps and turns around, finding Hajime walking in his room, one hand sliding the door close behind him and the other one holding a tray with tea and some snacks. He watches him approach the table and laying everything on it.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yes."

Hajime nods in approval and then crawls towards him, grabbing a cushion and sitting next to the futon. Tooru motions him to sit  _on_  it and moves a bit so he fits as well. "Did you skip-"

"It's already over."

Tooru flinches. "W-what time is it?"

"Half past eight... You slept quite a lot."

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"I got here ten minutes ago and your mum held me in the kitchen so I could bring everything upstairs." Hajime tells him and Tooru nods. He doesn't move for a while and just stares at Hajime; when he notices it, he raises an eyebrow. "What?"

Tooru smiles and shakes his head. "Nothing."

With that, he leans against Hajime's body and lies his head on his shoulder, his smile widening even more as he feels him adjusting to make him more comfortable. He asks him to tell him about school and Hajime's expression turns into a pissed one when he tells him how girls kept asking about him all day long and to this, Tooru only hums, leaning even more into him.

"You're annoying."

"And you're jealous, Iwa-chan."

This earns him an elbow in his ribs, which makes him whine in response. "Who would be jealous of someone like you?"

Tooru laughs.

"Idiot."

"Don't be mean, Iwa-chan!"

Another jab in the ribs.

Tooru decides to switch positions, because he can get hit too easily like this, so he leans over Hajime, grabs his pillow and lies down with his head on his lap.

Hajime grunts but does nothing to stop him this time either; instead, he puts his hand on his shoulder and leans with his back against the pillow between him and the wall.

"How was practice?"

"Good."

Tooru narrows his eyes slightly. "Just good? What did you do?"

"I practiced on my serve and then on my spikes with Kageyama. Why?" He speaks without thinking and when he sees the face Tooru pulls off after his words, he mentally slaps himself. Tooru snorts and turns so his back is facing him and Hajime chuckles. "And  _I'_ m the jealous one."

"Shut up."

Tooru's voice is quivering and even though this childish behavior pisses Hajime off to no end, he can't help himself to find it amusing. The hand on his shoulder moves up and in his hair, caressing him gently.

"Ne, Iwa-chan..."

"What now?"

"What do you want for dinner?"

"Who said anything about me staying-"

_'Oh.'_

He sighs. "Do I even have a choice?"

Tooru turns his head to face him, a large grin on his face. "Of course you don't." And Hajime sighs again.

Of course he doesn't.

"Anything's fine for me, really." Tooru nods against him and then sits up. It seems his good mood is back and Hajime thinks it's better like this. Having to deal with a whiny Tooru for the rest of the evening isn't something he's looking up to.

"Let's watch a movie, Iwa-chan."

Hajime rolls his eyes when Tooru pulls his 'Mars Attack' DVD from the shelf, a movie he made Hajime watch hundreds of times and this probably won't be the last. "Are you serious?  _Again?_ " he asks annoyed, but Tooru isn't bothered by it in anyway. "Yup."

Hajime's okay with it in the end. As long as Tooru doesn't babble about stupid stuff so he can take this rare opportunity to finish his homework while it lasts. "Can you do mine too?"

"Do it yourself."

"Oh come on, Iwa-chan! It's the same exercices you have too!"

Hajime grunts but moves to grab Tooru's bag as well, pulling out his notebook so he could copy the exercises there. Fortunately they have the same Maths teacher which gives to two different classes the same homework without even thinking that they could just copy them from one another without creating themselves any problems.

The movie starts and Tooru covers himself up, his eyes never leaving the screen and, even though he's seen it so many times, he still acts as if it's the first. But after all, he does that with every alien movie he lays his hands on and there's nothing Hajime can do about it. He just focuses on finishing his Maths problems, so he can finally get rid of the thoughts about it.

The noise Tooru makes during the 'most exciting parts' distract him a lot, but he doesn't complain, because he knows it could always get worse.

When he finishes, he glances at the computer screen and sees that he pretty much missed half of the movie, but he doesn't really see it as a huge loss. He stands up from his place, adjusting his books back in his bag and then reaching out for his cup of tea, now grown cold.

"Pass me mine too."

"Take it yourself."

"Please, Iwa-chan!"

And this time too, Hajime does what he was asked. When he returns to his place, he glances at Tooru. "How's your leg?"

Tooru's eyes widen slightly and he turns to look at him. He wonders if he should lie or not, but in any case he won't be able to play for six more days, so the truth couldn't damage him any more than this. "It hurts."

Hajime can't help himself but to be taken aback by the straightforwardness of the answer. He was expecting the usual fake smile and teasing just to lead him away from hearing an honest answer from him. At least that's what Tooru usually does, but if he hasn't used any of his lame tactics right now, it must really be bad. He doesn't realize his eyes are fixed on his knee until Tooru calls out loud to him, asking if everything's okay.

He just shakes his head and pretends to focus back on the movie, but Tooru's not buying it. "Are you worried BOUT me?"

"I'm not."

"Liar."

"I'm not!"

Tooru's usual mocking smirk makes its way on his face and he moves towards him. "Aren't we sentimental today, Iwa-chan... This morning too..." Tooru puts his hand on his shoulder, turns him around and then adjusts himself so he's sitting on his lap, his legs resting one on each side, and has him trapped between himself and the wall.

Hajime grunts in response and looks away, clearly pissed off. Tooru chuckles at his expression and, thanks to the closeness he's able to notice the faint blush on his spiker's tanned cheeks. "Shut up, Assikawa."

"Come on, Iwa-chan... Don't you know any other insults other than that?"

Tooru's arms wrap slowly around his neck, but Hajime does nothing to stop him; he doesn't even answer to his stupid question, and just closes his eyes. He feels Tooru bury his face in his neck, placing a gentle kiss on the warm skin before sighing. His hands move on their own, placing themselves on his hips.

Hajime doesn't know why, but it feels nice and something in his chest starts to feel weird and it makes him instinctively pull him closer, a hand now sliding from his hip to his right knee and stopping there. He doesn't feel the shape of the knee supporter underneath his pajamas, which means he's keeping it off when he's in bed, just like the doctor told him to do.

"Thank you." Tooru whispers quietly, but Hajime hears him anyway.

Hajime feels himself smiling, his grip on Tooru's leg tightening slightly but not enough to hurt him and just holds him like that. He feels Tooru's body getting limp and he figures he's probably trying to sleep some more because he was told so, and Hajime's about to change their position so he could be a bit more comfortable, but before he's able to even move, Tooru stiffens and holds him in place. "No..."

None of them really cares about the movie anymore; Tooru is slowly drifting away and Hajime didn't care about it from the start. He keeps his eyes on the screen, but he isn't actually watching. He concentrates on Tooru's warm breathing against his skin and the constant movemets of his chest against his as he does so.

"Let me stay like this, Iwa-chan."

And Hajime doesn't move, because Tooru asks him not to - and  _because he doesn't want to, either_.  
  


 


	5. Welcome Back, Oikawa-san

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He forces another smile and tilts his head on the side. "You flatter me, Tobio-chan..."
> 
> Tobio's eyes widen in surprise at the hearing of the nickname, a small blush making its way on his cheeks and Tooru can't help but feel awkwardly satisfied by the embarrassment he brought to him, no matter how small it might be. He observes as the boy looks away and seems to be looking for words to tell him God knows what, so Tooru doesn't move – even though every part of him is screaming at him to get away.
> 
> But as long as he's able to put at least some pressure on Tobio it's good, he tells himself.
> 
> Suddenly, the young setter seems to find his courage as takes in a deep breath and finally speaks. "Oikawa-san, welcome back."

On the day he is allowed to return to practice, Tooru swears he is the happiest boy on the planet. He missed everything of it: the game, the team, his serve... even the sweat. And now he is finally coming back to all of it.

When he enters the gym in his training clothes, his teammates rush to him to greet him warmly and he finds himself smiling. Actually, the rare, genuine smile has been on his face since the day before, when his doctor told him he's free to train again and it keeps getting wider and wider as the day goes by.

Those weren't the only words the man told him though; he strictly recommended him to be careful and not to strain himself immediately, but to gradually raise the menu every day without exaggerating like he did the last time. "You need to keep it down, Oikawa. At least for a while, until your body gets used to it again." He keeps those words in mind and promises himself he's going to do just that.

The coach also came to him earlier in the morning and he warned him as well.

Tooru said nothing to that; he only bowed.

After all there's no need to rush; he feels better than he thought he would so any kind of extra work is unnecessary. He's going to be happy with even the simplest things for now.

Hajime joins him in his warm up, and runs laps with him around the gym and Tooru doesn't know if he's more glad for being back or the fact that he'll make it for the practice match which will take place in two weeks. The thought of playing again with his team is what is making him go on after all...  _Ushiwaka-chan is going to see who's boss.'_ Even though the match with Shiratorizawa is still so far away, he's already craving for it, because this will be their chance.

He quickens his pace slightly, a confident and satisfied look making it's way on his face.

"You look pleased," Hajime tells him and Tooru's smile only widens.

"I am."

They run one more lap and then return to the gym; Hajime walks to the basket and picks up a ball, throwing it at him. Tooru catches it immediately and looks down at it, making his hands run all over it. The familiar feeling makes him realize once again how much he's been longing for this. However, before moving anywhere from the spot he's standing on, he looks at Hajime almost hesitantly.

The spiker raises an eyebrow, clearly confused.

"What are you waiting for? Aren't you going to try that serve you're so obsessed with?"

"I'm not obsessed with it!"

"Yes, you are."

"Dumb Iwa-chan! I'm not- Ouch!"

Before he's even able to finish a sentence another ball already hits his head. And even though it kind of stings because Hajime is standing closer than usual when he throws it, he can't help but feel happy about that as well. "So mean... And it's only my first day."

"Shut up and do what you have to. Or do you want me to hit you again?"

"I'm going!"

He turns on his heel and heads before the white line of the court. He stands straight behind it and faces the net in front of him, taking a deep breath. When he exhales, he throws the ball in the air, takes the run-up and jumps; his hand hits the ball perfectly, sending the ball flying at an unbelievable speed on the other side of the net and perfectly into the opposite corner.

He lands on his feet – feeling no pain - and watches it roll away, his satisfaction growing by the second.

There's nothing that could go wrong now.

Nothing.

"Oikawa-san, that was an amazing serve!"

Nothing?

Tooru turns around, stiffening immediately when he sees Tobio standing behind him, eyes wide and clear excitement showing on his face. Tooru finds himself swallowing hard and orders himself to keep his cool; he's not going to ruin this day by bothering himself with the brat.

_Just fake it._

He forces another smile and tilts his head on the side. "You flatter me, Tobio-chan..."

Tobio's eyes widen in surprise at the hearing of the nickname, a small blush making its way on his cheeks and Tooru can't help but feel awkwardly satisfied by the embarrassment he brought to him, no matter how small it might be. He observes as the boy looks away and seems to be looking for words to tell him God knows what, so Tooru doesn't move – even though every part of him is screaming at him to get away.

But as long as he's able to put at least some pressure on Tobio it's good, he tells himself.

Suddenly, the young setter seems to find his courage as takes in a deep breath and finally speaks. "Oikawa-san, welcome back."

Tooru's eyes widen in surprise. That's  _not_ what he was expecting coming from him. His voice is empty of any sarcasm or any kind of hidden malicious meaning and, most of all, the way he's looking at him seems to tell him he's been missing him. Tooru shakes his head slightly and mentally slaps himself.  _'Idiot... How can thoughts like that even cross your mind?'_ He keeps his facade though and nods to his words.

Tobio approaches him even more and is now standing just a couple of steps away from him, those blue eyes staring at up at his own so intensely. "Really... That serve was amazing... I wish I could do something like that one day."

Tooru unconsciously moves back, his hands starting to tremble, even though his expression doesn't show any of the things crossing his mind. "I-"

"Oi, dumbass. What's going on here?"

Hajime's return is like a blessing, Tooru thinks. When he finds him standing next to him he feels all the heat pour out of his stomach and he eventually manages to get himself together a little. He's even able to widen the distance between himself and Tobio and, even if it's not by much, it still feels better like this.

"Nothing, Iwaizumi-san. I was just welcoming Oikawa-san back." Tobio answers instead of Tooru and his words are once again empty of any sarcasm but also full of admiration towards the older setter and Hajime finds hard to believe how Tooru's so against him even after he's seen  _this_. He looks at Tooru and the nervousness the setter's feeling is clearly visible to him even from afar, and that's why he came here to make it stop. 

"You should get back to practice, Kageyama. You too, Oikawa..."

Hajime hopes it's enough for them to go two different ways and hopefully avoid each other till the end of the day, before things start to escalate.

Tobio's easy to convince, because he immediately nods and straightens up. Howerver the request that comes afterwards doesn't make the situation easier like it should. "Iwaizumi-san, could you train with me? I want to get back to what we tried yesterday."

 _A new move?_ Tooru raises an eyebrow.

_When did they even-_

"Sure." Hajime's a bit hesitant to answer, because he wanted to check on the idiot to make sure he keeps the promise he made to him about not pushing himself to his limits, but he seems alright, so he guesses he can leave him alone for a while. Black eyes meet hazel and he smiles. "I'll leave you to your serve then and as I told you already: don't force yourself too much. It's your first day, after all." His voice sounds calm, but somehow distant and Tooru doesn't even manage to say anything that Hajime takes Tobio and they take their leave towards the other side of the court.

And Tooru has enough of it. He turns to the basket he prepared himself and starts his session. He's going to finish what he started to work on before he got hurt and this time, there's nothing that's going to stop him.

He throws the ball in the air and jumps for the second time.

The way it comes out is almost perfect - it goes out, since he didn't actually take the aim - so why isn't he minimally satisfied with it?

***

"Alright, Kageyama! Go!"

Hajime gets ready and as soon as he sees the ball flying to the right spot, he jumps. His hand makes contact with it and slams it to the other side. "Yes!"

He lands on the floor and grins. "Great job!" His voice is cheerful and hearing it like this coming from him,Tobio can't help but feel blood rush to his cheeks. "T-thank you."

Hajime nods and returns to his place, getting ready to do it again.

"Um... Iwaizumi-san..."

"Yes?"

"If you... start the run-up sooner-"

"Got it."

Hajime isn't really sure about it, but Tobio should know, right? Even though he lacks experience, he's still got a good sense for the game, so Hajime trusts him. He does what he was told and this time he doesn't feel it smooth like before, but the blow is indeed more powerful.

"Just like that, Iwaizumi-san. It was good."

Hajime nods. Maybe if he practices it a couple of times he'll get used to it...

"Then let's keep going."

***

They practice on that move for over an hour without taking any breaks. None of them feels too tired so they just keep it up without any problems, but Hajime starts to feel bothered after a while, because Tooru's been doing the same. He keeps repeating that serve over and over  _and over_ and hasn't gotten himself a minute to rest even though he promised he would.

Suddenly the coach calls out to Hajime and the spiker excuses himself and heads to him. The man looks worried and irritated at the same time and states that it's too much for Tooru's first day and that he should have stopped a while ago already. He also asks Hajime to take him home after he scolds him, but Hajime asks to let  _him_ go instead to talk to him. "It won't end up well if he keeps it up like that; his body may have healed, but it's still weak."

Hajime nods. "Let me take care of it."

"Do what you want. I have to go to take a couple of papers I need to sing in my car. If he's still there when I get back-"

"It won't happen."

The coach leaves the gym and Hajime returns to where Tobio is waiting for him. "What did he want?" the younger boy asks curiously, but Hajime doesn't reply, too busy to check on the idiot in front of him.

Suddenly Tooru drops the ball he was holding and Hajime thinks he is actually ending it here, but then he sees something he never wanted in a moment like this: Tooru takes off his right shoe and lowers down to slide his knee supporter off.

"Oi, Assikawa!"

He glances at Tobio, smiling apologetically. "Gimme a second."

"Ah. Yeah..."

Hajime runs to the other side and when he reaches him, Tooru has already put his shoe back on and is looking at him with a grin. "What is it, Iwa-chan?" He throws the supporter on his side, making it land next to the benches and bending then again to grab the ball from before.

"Move, Iwa-chan. I need to make another one."

"Stop it."

Tooru flinches. "Eh?"

Hajime narrows his eyes. "Oikawa."

"What?"

"Don't. Put it back on." He's serious about it and Tooru seems to realize it, but still doesn't move to get the white cloth back. "It's too uncomfortable. I'll put it back on later."

"You're overw-"

"Tobio-chan is waiting for you."

Hajime raises an eyebrow. "Tobio-chan?"

"Mhm." he hums and gets back in position to serve. "Don't worry about it anyway. Just a couple more."

Hajime snorts and turns around, walking slowly to where he was before. He can't hit him now because he wouldn't listen anyway, but there's something _else_... He approaches Tobio and leans over him, whispering something in his ear. And Tooru doesn't like any of it: the way it looks, the way it might be, the way it is... He despises everything.

But who cares. He'll deal with it later.

He jumps for the umpteenth time and hits the ball.

It looks perfect: it's fast, powerful... It's going the right way and-

Hajime stands before it and receives it, a bit of fatigue shown on his face as it slaps against his arms, but it goes up. Tooru's eyes widen as he focuses his gaze under the net.

_Tobio._

He's standing there and the ball makes its way right to his hands and he tosses. Hajime runs up and hits it just the way they were practicing before. It hits the side of the court on which Tooru is standing and the blow is strong enough it makes it bounce off and right out of the white line, ending up next to the previously discarded knee supporter.

Everything seems to stop in that moment.

Every person in the gym stares at them in silence. And then they start cheering.

"Nice serve, Oikawa-san!"

"Nice recieve, Iwaizumi-senpai!"

"Nice toss, Kageyama! That was amazing!"

Hajime looks at Tobio with a smile on his face. "You did great." He ruffles his hair gently and Tobio can't help but smile as well. "Thank you, Iwaizumi-san." He laughs then, feeling as happy as ever because  _this_  is what he always wanted. He looks at the spiker for way longer than he should, but he's too excited to even think about it and just keeps his eyes on him and lets him caress his hair some more before the spiker turns around once again and heads back to the older setter.

The only one who finds nothing amazing in any of this is Tooru, who's still standing on his spot, eyes wide and mouth open. He hopes that a ball will come out of nowhere and straight to his head to wake him up from this terrible nightmare.

It never comes.

 _How could everything turn into_ this _?_

He swallows hard and then shakes his head slightly when he sees Hajime approaching him and stopping a meter away from him.

"Everything alright?"

"Huh?" He's still too shocked for anything concrete to come out of his mouth. Everything's so...  _unfamiliar_. He feels his blood pressure slowing down and suddenly even breathing starts to require a huge amount of energy out of him.

"You are pale." Hajime is worried now, because Tooru moves away from him and from the rest of the balls that were meant to be used during his practice as if they're burning and tries to do everything in his power to avoid Hajime's piercing gaze. "I... My leg's hurting a bit so... I'll be going out for a moment. I need to make it rest."

He doesn't give time to Hajime to answer and quickly turns on his heel, walking towards the nearest exit door faster than he wants to.

This can't be happening. Not yet.

He rubs the back his hand over his mouth and the nauseous feeling in his stomach growing, so he quickly heads to the drinking fountain next to the gym and drinks as much as his body allows him, otherwise he feels he could be throwing up everything he ate for lunch earlier. And he doesn't want that to happen. He pulls away from the water only when he can't handle any more liquid coming in and he starts to cough.

Suddenly a wave of pain coming from his knee startles him and makes his body stiffen and he's forced to let himself fall on the bench next to him.  _Dammit._

He takes in deep breaths to calm down.

He should've taken a break before after all; Hajime told him to but, as always, he was too much of a brat to listen to him. Maybe, if he'd done that, the scene from before wouldn't have taken place against his serve and in front of his eyes; Tobio and Hajime wouldn't-

He feels his eyes burning, his heart clenching and beating so hard in his chest that it starts to hurt and once again, he doesn't allow himself to let it out. He grips his leg tightly, with the intent to give it a massage to make the ache go away, but the frustration building inside him only makes him put too much pressure in his touch, making it even worse than before.

"Shit."

He figures he needs his knee supporter to go home and the only way to get it back would be to return in there. >And he curses himself for removing it before, even because it's going to take him some time for the muscle to cool down and for him to be able to stand back on his feet.

He throws his head back letting out a heavy sigh, his eyes focusing on the cloudy sky above him. It's going to rain tonight, he's sure of it; and he only hopes it'll start when he's already home because he didn't bring anything to protect himself from the water. _Maybe Iwa-chan-_

He closes his eyes.  _No._

He's aware practice's over for him for today. He should just change his clothes and go home but that too would also imply his return inside the gym and he can't do that... He just can't; he won't be able to control himself if Tobio approaches him once more.

He bites his lip.

_Stupid Tobio-chan._

He doesn't want to see  _any_ of  _that_  again.

He'll just stay here for a while; until it ceases to hurt at least a bit.

.

Half an hour after Tooru excused himself goes by and Hajime is starting to wonder if everything's okay, because he still hasn't come back. His knee supporter is still where he left it, so he must be somewhere around close since he can't go too far without it. Moreover he seemed really upset before and Hajime's starting to worry, because right now, he reallycan't tell what's going on in that head of his.

"Iwaizumi-san, Oikawa-san isn't back yet. Shouldn't you go check on him?" Tobio's voice snaps him back to reality. He looks down at him and sees  _something_  in those blue eyes as they stare up at him. It looks like the boy is thinking the same thing he is - maybe not so defined, because there's a good chance Tooru's upset because him and he doesn't know - and Hajime knows he's pratically asking him to do it.

He sighs.

"I'll be right back."

"Don't worry."

Hajime makes his way to the exit.

The first thing he notices when finally outside is the thick, humid air and the cloudy sky above him. It should start to rain in about an hour or so, which means he should find Tooru and tell him to come back to the gym - on the bench - or send him home before it starts so he won't get soak.

He looks around, trying to figure out where he could possibly be and after some thinking he figures he should be next to the drinking fountain they always stop at after practice.

He heads there and finds him sitting on the bench next to it.

"Oi, you alright?"

Tooru doesn't even look at him, his head thrown back as he claws his right leg tightly with his hand and it doesn't take much for Hajime to understand something's wrong so he hurries to him. "Oikawa." He stops when he's a couple of meters away from him.

Tooru opens one eye and finally gives him his attention but doesn't speak.

Hajime points at his leg. "Does it hurt?"

The setter turns his head away, not wanting to keep the eye contact with him. "Yeah." He keeps massaging it roughly, a grimace showing with every push against it but he keeps it up anyway for another minute until Hajime clicks his tongue in irritation and sits next to him, blocking his wrist and pulling it away.

"You're going to make it worse if you do it like this."

He then wraps his hands around his leg and puts it on his lap. Tooru flinches at the awkward position but doesn't complain and instead adjusts himself so he's a little more comfortable and watches Hajime covers the spot on his knee with his hands, massaging it in a much gentler way but still keeping it firm. It's the correct way to do it; he knows because he went to see the doctor with Tooru once and he listened to what the man was telling him. Just to make sure he would be able to apply it if needed.

Tooru lets out a pleased sigh as Hajime works his way on him before looking up.

"Humidity... It's making it worse." His words are quiet but there is a perfectly audible strain in his voice. Audible for Hajime at least.

"If you hadn't forced yourself before, it wouldn't be this bad."

Tooru doesn't say anything in response and it pisses the spiker off, because he's not even  _trying_ to deny it or blame someone or something else.

"What the hell were you even thinking?! It's your first day, you should've taken it easier, dumbass." Hajime's raising his voice and Tooru's expression gets sadder. "Sorry."

And Hajime removes from his mind everything he still wanted to scold him with.

Because something's  _definitely_  wrong.  _In more ways than one._

"You know you can't go back to practice for today, right? You should go home. Besides, it's going to start raining soon, so you should hurry too." Even though he knows he's right, he still wants to see what he's going to say or how he's going to react – he's been craving to come back for days; he'll insist to stay, right? He keeps touching him gently, remembering to press on some spots underneath his knee like Tooru once told him to.

Tooru bites back a moan and sighs again, this time in resignation. "I... I should go after all."

Hajime freezes.

Giving up so easily...

"Can you bring me my stuff? I don't feel like going in."

Hajime still doesn't believe his senses – but he's free of any kind of hallucination-bringing illnesses, so it must be real -, but nods eventually. "I'll be right back." He moves Tooru's leg off himself and stands up and heading back to the entrance, turning back only to see if Tooru might be following him, but the setter is sitting still in his place just like he said he would.

Hajime runs.

First he goes into the locker room and grabs the setter's bag, which is lying next to his. He makes sure all his belongings are inside and then gets to the gym. He sees Tobio flinching when he sees him in such a hurry, so he just waves with his hand to let him know everything's fine before bending down and picking up the white supporter.

Then he gets back out.

Tooru seems not to notice him. Again. His eyes are fixed somewhere, but Hajime can tell he isn't actually looking. He reaches him and places his bag next to him. Then he lowers down and takes off the setter's shoe, ready to put the supporter on.

"I can do it on my own."

"But you _won't_."

Tooru's lips curve up in a dejected smile. He just watches as Hajime slides the tight cloth up his leg and then adjusts it around his knee. Even though he's finished in less than a minute, he still stays down, his hands resting over it. All the previous irritation suddenly leaves him.

"Iwa-chan..."

He shakes his head. "Sorry." He stands up and looks down at him. "You should put on something to keep you warm. You don't want to get sick." Tooru complies immediately and gets on his feet as well. He grabs his sweatpants and puts them on over his shorts. He's going to take a shower and change himself at home anyway.

Hajime observes him and when he sees he's done, he nods his head.

"I should return to practice. Kageyama's waiting for me."

If Tooru's face looked embittered before, it gets worse after he says that. He turns around so Hajime's facing his back and grabs his bag, gripping it tightly. "That damn brat..."

"What?"

_Shit._

Tooru realizes he has actually said it out loud, and figures he is most likely in trouble right now. He tries to smile as he turns around, but his eyes don't match his expression and the attempt fails miserably. "Nothing, Iwa-chan... I didn't say anything."

Hajime crosses his arms, narrowing his eyes. "I heard you. What does Kageyama have to do with you now?"

Tooru can't hold in a sarcastic laugh this time. "Oh... Just how dense can you actually be, Iwa-chan?"

"Huh?"

Tooru laughs again but it's bitter. Hajime can tell. "Oikawa..."

"Can you  _really_  not see it, Iwa-chan?"

Hajime's confused. What isn't he seeing?  _Since when_  doesn't he see? Tooru's always been an open book for him. At the moment, he hates himself for not being strong enough to beat Wakatoshi and is also envious of Tobio's genius setter skills. There isn't anything else other than that.

Right?

"I..."

Tooru rubs his face with his hands before looking back up at him, disappointment written all over him. "I got back after two weeks of resting, Iwa-chan... And you acted as if I weren't there at all." He waits for a reply from Hajime but as it doesn't come, he sighs. "You made me practice on my own and you only came when you thought I should have stopped and gone home."

Hajime takes a step closer to him. "Of course I came to tell you to stop, because I was right. I mean, look at yourself; what did you gain by pushing yourself this far?"

Tooru shakes his head, frustrated. "That's not the point..."

"Then  _what_  is?!"

Hajime just doesn't get it, Tooru figures; and there's no way he will - at least not now. But Hajime doesn't give up. It doesn't feel right to see him like that, so he tries one last time and asks him again.

Tooru breaks off the eye contact and waves his hand. "It doesn't matter... Just forget I said anything." He adjusts his bag over his shoulder and is about to move past Hajime, but he stands still and doesn't let him. "We're not done yet."

"There's nothing to talk about." Tooru puts his hand on the spiker's shoulder and moves him away. "I want to go home... And you should get back to the gym before your body cools down. I'll see ya around."

With that, he starts to walk away slowly, trying not to lean too much on his right leg. He's limping quite badly today; it seems to be painful too.

"Wait! Let me get my things and I'm coming with you."

Tooru doesn't even turn to look at him.

"It's not needed."

He doesn't add anything else, and Hajime stays motionless for a moment as he watches him getting further and further. When he loses sight of him, he turns around and enters the gym again. His head hurts; what was thay? Tooru was so happy to be back to practice earlier, so what could have possibly gone wrong? He even let him practice his serve without bothering him, so he just doesn't get where  _that_ face is coming from.

He shakes his head and looks in front of himself. Tobio is still waiting for him where he left him before.

"Ah! Iwaizumi-san! You're back." He runs to meet him and stops a couple of steps away.

"Sorry for making you wait."

Tobio looks around and behind the spiker with wide, curious eyes. "Where's Oikawa-san?"

Hajime offers him an apologetic smile and rubs the back of his head. "Umm... He went home."

Tobio's eyes widen, a concerned expression making way on his face. "Did something happen? Is it because of his knee?" Figuring he won't let go without an answer, Hajime nods. "He just pushed himself too hard for the first day. Nothing to worry about." It's better to leave most of the details out, even because in case of Tobio's possible questions he wouldn't be able to explain him much; he doesn't get all of it either.

He remembers Tooru's face and looks down. Why isn't he able to just make it stop? Just how is he supposed to deal with it?

"Why aren't you with him then?" Tobio's words make him flinch. "If he's not feeling well, he shouldn't be alone. What if something happens to him?" His eyes stare deep into Hajime's and the spiker finds himself wondering about the reason of such a truthful concern towards a person Tobio's known for two months. He sure admires Tooru, everyone knows that, but there wasn't really any direct contact between them yet...

"He said he doesn't need me."

"Are you sure he meant it?"

Suddenly, a loud thunder is heard from outside and as soon as the blow quiets down, the sound of pouring rain marks the beginning of the storm that the news announced would last for the whole night.

"Oikawa-san doesn't have an umbrella with himself."

"Huh?"

"He said it before, when we were in the locker room."

Hajime gasps.

"You should..."

"Yeah... yeah. Excuse me then. I'll see ya tomorrow, Kageyama."

He doesn't wait for the boy to reply and hurries his way to the locker rooms, pulling his sweatpants and hoodie from his bag and putting them on. Once he's ready, he puts the bag over his shoulder and grabs his umbrella.

When he gets out, he realizes it's really not going to stop soon, so he'd better find Tooru before the idiot gets soaked to the bone. Fortunately, there is no wind yet, so its easier to move around and avoid the water to get to him. He walks as fast as he can and takes the road which they take when they go to his house – if his leg's hurt, he sure won't be taking any longer ways.

He finds him not far from the school, walking under the rain as if there was none. He's soaked, but isn't even bothering himself to look for a shelter; he seems to be deep in thought, or maybe he just doesn't care. But whatever the reason, it won't keep him from getting sick if he doesn't get warmed up soon.

Hajime runs up to him and puts his umbrella over his head as well. Luckily he brought the biggest one with himself, since he accidentally broke the smaller one he usually carries in his bag, so they easily fit under it without getting their opposite shoulders wet.

Tooru doesn't say a word to him; he does notice his presence, but he doesn't acknowledge it in any way. Hajime also stays quiet, figuring there will be time to talk when they're somewhere more private (and dry,  _and_  warm).

They finally arrive at Tooru's and once they get in, Hajime looks at him from head to toe and sighs. "Go to the bathroom, take those - he points at his clothes - off and warm yourself a little. I'll go and get you a change of clothes."

Tooru is already heading upstairs before Hajime even manages to put his bag down, but he follows him wordless anyway. Tooru doesn't look back and heads directly to the bathroom and closes the door behind him. He takes off everything he's wearing and can't help a small flinch of surprise when he realizes even his underwear is wet. He doesn't muse too much on it though and just takes it off as well.

He then heads to the shower and turns the water on, making sure it's not too hot and lets it flow on his body. He closes his eyes, letting out a frustrated sigh. How could such a good-looking day turn into such a shitty one? He's so angry, so full of nervousness and yet, there's nothing he can do about it.

He shouldn't be giving the cold shoulder to his best friend right now, but what he saw before is still inside his head and it's just...

The door opens and Hajime walks in, putting the clean laundry on the chair next to him. Tooru's back is facing him and the setter doesn't even turn around to look at him and instead keeps washing himself. Hajime stares at him from behind and when he sees him turning off the water, he grabs a towel and walks to him, throwing it over his shoulders and head and rubbing it slightly to dry him up.

He then presses himself against him and places a gentle kiss on his nape, hoping to at least get some kind of reaction after that, but even this time he gets nothing.

Instead, Tooru pulls away from him and walks to the chair and lazily dresses himself up before heading out of the bathroom, Hajime following close behind. "I need to use the shower too. I'll borrow one of your shirts."

"Okay."

He goes downstairs and leaves him there.

Usually Hajime would follow him and harass him until he'd be telling it out like a singing bird and then would scold him because it would probably be something stupid. This time, however, there's something stopping him, because everything Tooru gives out is ordering him to back off without any trace of joke in it.

So he just returns to the bathroom and stands under the shower as well.

When he's done he heads down to the living room after hearing the sounds coming from the TV. He finds Tooru sprawled on the couch watching a movie he doesn't recognize, but as long as it isn't another stupid alien movie it's fine. He places himself next to the couch and looks down at him.

He's tempted to move his hand in his hair, but decides against it as even before he ended up pulling away from his touch. The situation is quite unfamiliar to him, because not once had he been at Tooru's place and had him being quiet all the time, so he doesn't really know what to do.

"Are you hungry?"

"... I guess..."

"I'll make you something then. Your parents won't be home till late at night as usual?"

"Yeah."

Hajime nods. Well, that's at least something, still very poor, but it's  _something_.

He makes his way to the kitchen and gets ready to work. He's not going to prepare something too complicated, even because he would probably make a mess which he isn't in the mood to clean up. So some rice and miso soup should do; he could make a bigger portion, so he can make up for all the side dishes Tooru's mother usually prepares.

Tooru looks up from his place and at him, mouth pressed in a thin line, and he's somehow grateful the spiker has his back facing him, because he really doesn't want to be caught staring in a moment like this.

He closes his eyes once again and decides to take a small nap before dinner's ready.

"Don't fall asleep. It'll be ready soon."

So he keeps his eyes open.

And when Hajime comes with a tray with two bowls on it and stands before Tooru, he tells him to sit up so he can give it to him. When he does, he puts it in his lap and stays in the position for a tad longer than he would usually do, just to meet his eyes.

He doesn't see anything in them; he's not able to read what's in his mind behind the image of endless emptiness he's letting him see. He draws back and then excuses himself, telling he must use the restroom.

Tooru just nods and starts to eat slowly.

It tastes good; Hajime's food always tasted good, even if he cooked for him only three times and even if it's always been the same thing.

He finishes the soup fast, but when he's half-way done with the rice, the uncomfortable feeling in his stomach from before returns and makes him give up on it. He lays the tray on the coffee table and returns to his previous lying position.

When Hajime returns and finds him like this, he can't hold back another sigh. Then he makes his way to the other side of the couch and looks down at him. "Move a little."

Tooru unconsciously raises his legs in the air and Hajime sits down, only to get them back in his lap. A vein pops on his head; apparently he isn't angry enough to let go of his stupid behaviors.

He moves his hands on his knee and gives him a massage like he did before. "Does it hurt here?" he asks as he applies pressure on the back of it.

"Yeah..."

He takes a mental note to avoid the spot and moves elsewhere. "Here?"

"No."

His hand lowers down, feeling the shape of it through his pants. "Here?"

"A bit."

"Mhm."

He keeps his touch gentle, being careful not to touch any of the parts he sees him whimper at when he touches them. He glances at him and finds his face turned towards the TV, so he doesn't bother him. He turns his head as well and lets himself being taken by the annoying drama going on.

The hours go by, no words are spoken and the rain doesn't cease. When Hajime glances at the clock above the TV, he realizes it's almost ten o'clock, which means he should return home. Then he makes one last attempt to get a reaction from the setter next to him.

He moves his legs off of his lap and stands up, stretching. "I should go. It's getting late."

Any usual day Tooru would cling to him and ramble on how he could get sick if he goes out and would keep going until he'd eventually give up and spend the night. This time, however, Tooru looks at him and gives him a small nod. "Okay..."

Hajime can't deny his surprise, but figures he's most likely unwanted at the moment, so he walks to the hall and grabs his bag. "Do you need anything?"

"No."

"Don't sleep on the couch, or you'll hurt your back."

"..."

"I'll see ya tomorrow then."

He puts on his shoes and grabs his umbrella and, since no answer comes from Tooru, he just opens the door and heads out. He locks it behind himself and makes his way home.

***

For the first time, they end up spending the night apart during a storm.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is another chapter for this one!
> 
> I'm so sorry for making you wait so long for this! I just have so many things going on and I am slowly feeling the pressure of it all.
> 
> I hope you like it! 
> 
> ***
> 
> Thank you very much for all the Comments, Bookmarks and Kudos! They all mean so much to me! I'll see ya at the next update.


	6. Breakdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tooru changes after that night.
> 
> He doesn't talk unless he's asked something that requires a concrete answer, he doesn't flirt with girls and turns down politely any advance coming from them, he avoids company as much as he can, and spends his breaks outside the classroom, making sure no one knows where he is, and eventually gets back in just before the bell rings.
> 
> He doesn't smile.

Tooru changes after that night.

He doesn't talk unless he's asked something that requires a concrete answer, he doesn't flirt with girls and turns down  _politely_  any advance coming from them, he avoids company as much as he can, and spends his breaks outside the classroom, making sure no one knows where he is, and eventually gets back in just before the bell rings.

_He doesn't smile._

Hajime manages to follow him around, but he knows Tooru is trying his best to push him away – even if not directly – and this situation makes it hard to keep up with him. Being in different classrooms doesn't make it any easier, because he doesn't know what his grades are like and if they're bad, he's going to be forced to stay away from practice until he fixes them.

Being the way it is now, that would probably be better.

Because he's overworking himself all over again.

Hajime's been the one to prevent him from staying too long and fucking up his leg even more, because he keeps dragging him out at ungodly hours every evening just before the guard comes in to check if there's anyone left.

Tooru glares at him every time, and it feels like he wants to just stab and shatter him to pieces, but the spiker tries not to bother with it too much; he would rather be treated like this than see him getting hurt again.

But itdoesn't change the fact that it's painful.

***

One day Tooru gets caught in the gym by the coach, two hours after practice was supposed to be done; the man forgets his bag and ends up returning to the gym a couple of minutes before Hajime manages to come and get the setter out.

And the sight before his eyes when he sees Tooru still on his spot is something Hajime hopes he'll never see again.

To say the coach is angry would be a euphemism; for the first time in his life, Hajime witnesses  _wrath_.

He watches as the man screams his lungs out at Tooru, reminding him how he assured him he would stop, and how he broke his promise just the day after, and keeps doing it... His voice gets louder and louder and his body agitates more with every passing second, and for a moment Hajime thinks he's going to hit him as well. Fortunately, he doesn't.

But Tooru looks like he doesn't hear it at all. He keeps staring at the floor, body stiff as threats of forcing him out of practice and scolds about his irresponsibility are being directed at him. His reaction only makes it worse.

When he just can't listen to it anymore, Hajime barges in and hits the idiot on the back of his head, apologizing to the coach on his behalf before forcing Tooru to leave with him.

The coach only glares at the spiker in return, as if questioning his abilities to keep him together.

And Hajime feels guilty.

Because he's starting to question himself too.

***

When Hajime finds Tooru in the gym early in the morning, he gets furious – he doesn't reach the coach's levels, because until that night, he's never been capable of even imagining such a rage, let along letting it out (and he still can't). He grabs his arm tightly and drags him all the way home, without even bothering to stop to collect the setter's things in the locker room; he can text someone of the other guys to bring it to him later.

Tooru struggles to get away, but Hajime's stronger and eventually manages to bring him home, where he throws him down on the futon of his bedroom and holds him there until he stops resisting and finally relaxes underneath him.

"Why are you doing this to yourself?"

Tooru doesn't answer to that and just keeps staring at him with shallow eyes.

Once again, Hajime sees nothing much in them and this time barely holds himself back from crying, because he can't do this anymore: he's sick of seeing him like this and there's no visible end to it. He shuts his eyes tightly, hoping to stop the tears forming in his eyes and lowers his head, burying his face in the crook of Tooru's neck as his body grows limp on top of him.

For the first time in a while though, he feels Tooru raising his arm and put his hand on his back, pulling him more into him. Tooru sighs against him and moves his hand up from there and in his black spiky hair. He then kisses him on the top of his head before throwing his head back and letting himself go; if he isn't going to practice now, he'd better use this time to gather energy for when he will.

Hajime is taken aback by the gesture,and barely holds himself from looking up.

Because it's still not _him_.

Because that little sign of affection isn't what it's supposed to be.

It feels wrong and cold -  _and fake_  in every aspect.

_(It's dragging him down.)_

So he just lies over him without moving for the rest of the morning.

School can wait, but Tooru can't.

When he finally feels Tooru's breathing getting even, followed by soft snores, the raising and falling of his chest turning regular and slow, Hajime is able to relax, but he still doesn't move off.

_Just to be sure._

***

"You're overworking yourself!"

Tooru jumps and hits the ball, making it land among the dozens he hit previously.

It's one of the regular evenings where Tooru stays in the gym extremely late and Hajime goes there after he gets a call from his worried mother, who asks him if he knows where her son is.

"The coach just warned you about it yesterday."

The setter acts as if he heard nothing and just grabs another ball.

Hajime grits his teeth and then moves forward, kicking him hard in his back and making him fall forward and on the floor. He hears him yelp, but nothing more than that.

Hajime takes the chest Tooru set next to himself and pushes it on the other side of the court to pick the balls up and put them in there. Then he makes his way to Tooru and pulls him up by the collar of his shirt. He pulls him along as he pushes the chest to the storage room to put it away. "What's the point of all this if you hurt yourself again?"

He doesn't let him go even when he adjusts everything up for the next morning. When finished, he turns around and walks to the changing rooms, still holding him tightly. Tooru doesn't resist this time; he gave up days ago, because he's not at his full strength and even if he were, the only way to get out would be to hit his best friend.

And that is out of the question no matter what.

Hajime closes the door behind them before he pushes him onto one of the benches and stands in front of him close, so he can't escape, and crosses his arms.

Tooru glares at him, a deadly look in his eyes just like when they last played against Shiratorizawa and he has to admit it's giving him chills, but if he gets back down, Tooru is going to return in there and will keep going on with his training.

So he holds himself still and stares back at him.

Not as harsh – because he isn't capable of giving him that kind of look in return, no matter how mad he is at him.

But he gives it his best shot.

"Change your clothes and let's go."

Tooru doesn't move from his spot and just keeps his eyes fixed into his.

"Do it."

Suddenly, Hajime feels him raising his hand and feels it moving on his knee. He raises an eyebrow as it trails slowly up his thigh and even higher to his hip. The setter stops at the waistband of his pants and intertwines his fingers with it; hazel eyes never leave black, but when he reaches his head to the spiker's hips, licking his bottom lip, and tugs at the cloth he's holding, Hajime fidgets before slamming his hand in his face to push him off.

Tooru gasps but doesn't let him widen the distance and puts his other hand on his crotch, caressing it gently.

Hajime blushes furiously, both from anger and embarrassment, and grabs his wrists, holding them tightly and preventing him to move.

"What the hell is wrong with you? I brought you here to talk, not for this!"

Tooru raises an eyebrow, a mocking - but bitter - smirk appearing on his face as he tilts his head to the side. "And I thought you wanted to comfort me, Iwa-chan... Was I wrong?"

"What... _What?!_ "

Tooru slowly licks his lips again, moving his whole body forward and then placing a kiss to where his hand was lying previously and the action looks much lewder and hotter than it should in Hajime's eyes and it's making his blood rush, his cheeks turning red. But if he surrenders now, Tooru wins.

Tooru looks up once again, his lips still over the now slowly growing bulge in his pants. "You've been quite eager to follow me around during this last week, Iwa-chan; I guess you wanted my attention so badly, and now you have it..."

Before he's able to do anything else, Hajime lets go of his wrists and instead moves away from him, looking at him in disbelief.

"How can you even- Can't you get serious for a moment? I'm worried about you and you come up with this?! You can defy me all you want, but I'm not going to let you keep this up..."

Tooru narrows his eyes and clenches his fists.

Hajime sighs and rubs his face with both his hands to cool his boiling blood before taking a step forward and reaching him again.

"Just... Change your clothes. And let's go to my place."

Tooru finally gives up this time and complies, taking off his shirt and then reaching for his bag to get the clean one he brought with himself. Hajime gives him space so he can stand up and change his shorts with a pair of long pants, but he doesn't move his eyes off him until he's done.

He watches him zip up his bag and putting it over his shoulder before turning to look at him.

"Done."

"Let's go."

Tooru follows him out and say a word until they're back to Hajime's place, where the spiker tells him to call his mother to let her know he's fine and to tell her he's going to stay the night. And this time as well, Tooru does what he was told. When he ends the call, he excuses himself saying he's going to have a shower and leaves Hajime alone in the living room.

He hears his cellphone ring and when he picks up, Tooru's mother thanks him and asks him to take care of him and he finds himself accepting and reassuring her, saying it's going to be alright.

Then he goes upstairs to his room to put on a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. He doesn't need a shower since he took one before he went to look for the idiot and when he gets out, he realizes Tooru isn't done yet as he hears the rumor of the water still running.

He decides to return downstairs.

He lets himself fall on the couch and turns on the TV right after he adjusts the pillows his mother keeps there. While he usually complains because they take more space than they should, he now finds himself appreciating their softness as he leans into them and puts himself into a half-sitting position.

Suddenly he hears Tooru coming downstairs, wearing a pair of sweatpants as well and a t-shirt Hajime recognizes as his. He probably went to his room and just grabbed one from his closet.

He doesn't complain though and just turns back around to watch the screen.

"Oi, there's that drama you keep bugging me about all the time. How can you even watch this shit?"

No response comes out from Tooru; he only walks to the couch and stands still for a moment, eyes fixed on Hajime. The spiker snorts. "There's enough space for you too; so don't start whining."

Tooru clicks with his tongue and crawls up and then moves towards the spiker. He sits on top of him and smirks before he moves his face closer to Hajime's. He can feel his hot breath over his lips and it makes shivers run down his spine.

Hajime closes his eyes.

He's waiting for it.

But it doesn't happen.

He feels Tooru press his hips against him and let out a gasp before he lowers his head and starts to nibble his neck, a hand moving underneath his shirt to caress the warm skin of his stomach and the other making it's way to the fabric of his pants.

Again.

Hajime fails to react immediately, because Tooru grinds against him harder and has him moan underneath him, but he eventually manages to get out of the daze in time and just pushes him away like he did before. "No!"

Tooru flinches, because Hajime was strong enough to make him end up on the other side of the couch. "Wh-"

"I don't want it like this."

Hajime's voice is serious, almost harsh and his gaze makes something in Tooru's stomach clench. He looks away, the shame of his action making it's way to him, and pulls his legs to his chest.

Hajime adjusts his clothes before looking back at him, much softer this time.

 _This_  isn't working.

And it seems it's going to stay like this until he fixes it.

If he only knew how.

He shifts and leans forward, grabbing Tooru's arms and pulling him back with him. He spreads his legs so the setter's body fits between them and leans him against his chest.

Tooru's eyes widen at the action and he looks up at him. Hajime gives him a small smile in return, moving his hand to the back of his head and caresses him.

And Tooru gulps, guilt now adding itself to the shame, and buries his face in his shirt.

But Hajime's welcoming him in his warmth and makes it go away after a short amount of time, so he moves into a more comfortable position, turning his head on the side and sliding his arm behind Hajime's back so it stays between him and the pillow. He lets out a sigh and fixes his gaze on the TV, but doesn't watch; he concentrates on the warm around him and surrenders to it. Hajime's hand is still in his hair and he finds it pleasant.

Everything about him is pleasant.

Comfortable.

Reassuring.

And if he wasn't panicking at the moment, he would've realized it.

He doesn't.

***

Tooru's panic surfaces during his long-awaited practice match.

His tosses are irregular - far too high and too quick for the spikers to hit. Kitagawa Daiichi barely wins the first set because the situation is still more or less controllable, but the second set is just plain bad.

Tooru feels his heartbeat quicken, his heavy breathing making his chest hurt like hell and as if it weren't enough, the other team already scored the umpteenth point and everything's... He feels panic overcome him and every muscle in his body first shakes and then freezes to a stop. He feels everyone's gaze on him, no words spoken, as if they were just waiting for him to fall.

But he doesn't.

And Hajime, the coach, the other teammates... They all know he won't. Not on his own.

But there's nothing Tooru can do. He doesn't know  _what_  to do.

He keeps telling himself the same thing. _You can still get it back._ He takes in a deep breath; it's almost his turn to serve, so there's still a chance. He needs to-

"Kageyma, give it a shot."

_Huh?_

His eyes widen and he straightens up as the whistle blows and the referee calls him out for a replacement. He looks at Tobio, who's holding the tag with the number one written on it and grits his teeth. He walks towards him slowly and raises his hand to give him a high five to complete the substitution. He avoids his eyes, even though the younger boy's obviously seeking the contact, worried for him like everyone else. But Tooru doesn't give it to him, too ashamed to meet even anyone's look - even Hajime's as he walks by him and gets out of the court.

He sits down on their team's bench, head low and bangs covering his face; the coach doesn't even pay him a look, too busy observing the other setter performing with the spikers.

He grips his legs tightly and looks down.

_Dammit._

"Nice toss!"

_Just stop it..._

His eyes are burning, his heart's beating fast and irregular, ramming against his ribcage, and he isn't able to slow it down no matter how much he tries. He's losing control and there's no more strength available to hold him back. All the constant pressure and his inability to let some things go are his weak point; he never knew how to handle tough situation and that's why he's breaking down.

His head starts to hurt.

 _Of all times, why did it have to happen_ now _?_

"Nice key!"

_Please._

He raises his head and finally looks at Hajime who fortunately doesn't notice it immediately, too busy handling the game going on.

Tooru has to admit it: the toss Tobio's been practicing with him looks much more amazing when it breaks the wall their opponents try to block them with. He observes it and when he feels something wet rolling down his cheek, he tells himself it's just some sweat and wipes his face with his shirt.

When Kitagawa Daiichi scores another point, Hajime's eyes meet his for a brief moment, but this time, Tooru doesn't see anything in them. Hajime must be feeling the same way as him; after all, this was a tough game for him too, maybe even more of a shock.

 _Because for the first time_ he _wasn't able to hit_ his _tosses._

_***_

When the match ends and both teams return home, Hajime realizes Tooru isn't in their group only when they're already outside and close to the school gates.

"Where's Oikawa?" he asks Yuutarou, whom he hears talking about him and what happened with Akira. The first year flinches, confused because the spiker  _doesn't know_. "He said he's going to stay back for a while." Akira nods and then looks at him as well. "He was really in a bad shape today." He doesn't add anything else, but Hajime knows.  _He_ knows.

"Well, he sure loves volleyball. Looks like it was just a bad day after all... He's got so much responsibility. Just by looking at him you could tell how frazzled he was."

Hajime swallows hard;  _they_  know – but then, who doesn't after witnessing that kind of game? - and his legs stop moving. The two first-years look at him and ask him if there's something wrong, but he just gives them an apologetic smile and waves his hand. "I forgot something in the gym. You go ahead."

Without waiting for their reply, he turns on his heel and runs.

***

Tooru is still on the same spot his teammates left him on, behind his so adored white line, and just practices. He wants this moment of loneliness so he can think and clear up his head; he's aware that things can't keep on like this, but it's so hard when there's a bloody genious behind his back, ready to replace him anytime. He needs to forget and his serve is the perfect way to accomplish that.

He missed quite a lot of times when he started earlier, but now almost every hit goes in and he's glad it does; it means he's relaxing and getting into it. Fortunately this move of his represents a challenge for his body, and is the only thing that can help him isolate himself from everything around him.

He jumps again and hits the ball.

He doesn't hear when Hajime comes in and the spiker doesn't bother approaching him to let him know about his presence either. He'll allow him to practice a bit more; after all this serve's everything he's going to get for today; he didn't do much except the first set and the beginning of the second, so he could use some extra work.

It's what he  _needs_.

Hajime leans against the wall and crosses his arms, letting out a sigh in relief as he closes his eyes; he'll wait here until he's done without interruption and then he'll walk him home as usual. He doesn't feel like leaving him alone, especially after what happened before.

"Oikawa-san."

His eyes snap open.

_Fuck._

Tooru's body stiffens when Tobio reaches him. He feels everything freeze around him as the younger boy stands next to him, a volleyball held tightly in his hands. Those bright eyes are staring at him full of expectation and he's  _smiling_.

"Please teach me how to serve."

In that moment, Tooru stops to breathe. And everything that's been bothering him since the end of his second year of middle school comes to the surface and slaps him in the face. His eyes move on him.

_Stay away._

" _I bet he'll be a setter one day."_

_Stay away._

" _You're too weak to beat me."_

_Stay away._

He's slipping and soon enough, all he sees is messy blur. He loses it completely; the burning rage finally breaks all the boundaries holding it in and his body moves on its own. His arm's muscles tense and he explodes.

_Don't come over HERE!_

All the desire to to just hit that face is about to finally get it's satisfaction. The blow's fast, strong and-

"Calm down you dumbass!"

Hajime jumps between them and grabs his wrist, blocking his hand when it's just inches from the first-year's face.

Realization falls upon him and this time his body freezes, this time because of fear. He feels all the intense emotions slowly melting as he straightens up, his arms falling limp on his sides.

"Sorry."

Hajime glares at him before he turns around.  _This_  can't wait anymore. 

"Kageyama, sorry, but that'll be all for today." The boy fails to hide his shock even though Hajime does his best attempt not to show him an angry expression – because he's not angry at Tobio, he's fuming mad  _at Tooru_ ; the first-year sure didn't expect his request to make the older setter so angry - he didn't have the minimal attention to upset him in any way. "Ah... Okay."

He gives one last look to Tooru and then runs out the door, shutting it behind himself and leaves the two alone.

Hajime sighs and rubs his face with the back of his hand.

"The substitution today was to let you clear your head." After all, if Tooru wasn't capable to do it on his own, the coach thought he would do it if forced to. And maybe it would've worked if Tobio hadn't showed up while he was thinking. Because he  _was_  thinking; Hajime knows.

Tooru looks at him, still in dazed shock, but listens.

"You need to learn to have more composure in though situations and-"

The anger and desperation that seemed gone resurface again; this is not what he wants to hear. Hajime should be on his side; he should understand, shouldn't he? And instead he's starting with a speech Tooru knows is going to turn into a scold and a comment on how childish he is. Everyone expects so much from him and yet nobody tries to understand. And he can't take it anymore. Not even from Hajime.

He snaps. "THERE'S NO WAY  _I_  CAN HAVE COMPOSURE WHEN  _I_  CAN'T POSSIBLY WIN AGAINST SHIRATORIZAWA THE WAY  _I_  AM NOW!" His breathing is irregular, both from the practice before and shouting that sentence on the top of his lungs. His body's shaking and he's glaring at the spiker and everything about him seems so...  _alive_. It's something Hajime hasn't seen during the last couple of days of his isolation from the rest and even though he wanted it to appear so badly, it's taking the wrong way to come out..

" _I_  want to go on and go to nationals! So in order to win,  _I_ have to-"

A vein pops on Hajime's head, a sign that means he's had enough. Just how much of an idiot can he actually be?

He grits his teeth and takes the two-stepped run up towards him and headbutts him as hard as he can, his forehead comes in contact with his face and it hurts, but it's not his priority at the moment. "Agh!" Tooru falls on the floor, shocked, and holds his now bleeding nose with his hand. It's the first time he was hit  _that hard_  and this time there is no joke that will make it go back.

"All of this _'I,I'_ crap is annoying!"

Tooru's eyes widen.

But Hajime isn't done. He's far from it.

He reaches him again, his hands grabbing the collar of his shirt until his knuckles turn white and pulls him towards himself without making him stand up and leaving him on his knees instead. "Are you planning to fight by yourself? This isn't some joke, you dumbass!" He shakes him and Tooru finds it hard to keep the balance, the muscles in his legs are starting to ache.

"Your results and the team's results are the same! If you're gonna get all conceited, I'll sock you one!"

"You already did!" Tooru whines and tries to escape from him, but Hajime holds him in the deadliest grip and shakes him once more, his voice raising even more and echoing in the empty gym.

"We've got  _nobody_  who can beat Ushiwaka one on one!"

Tooru stiffens.

"But volleyball has got  _six_  people on the court for a reason!"

Tooru looks at him, eyes even wider than before, something in him that was long spent starting to turn back on. His eyes never leave the spiker's, even if after all the things he's been told, he knows he should be looking down in shame.

"Whether the opponent's a genius first year or Ushiwaka,  _with six people the strong ones are even stronger!_ "

Hajime finally lets go of him, making a step back and panting. It seems he forgot to breathe during the speech and he's only feeling it now. He keeps looking at the setter, whose head is now low. Maybe he exaggerated a bit, but it seems he's starting to open his eyes.

"... With six people the strong are even stronger..." He chuckles.

Then he's laughing.

Hajime raises an eyebrow.

_'What the hell?'_

He approaches him and lowers down. "Sorry... Did I headbutt you too hard? You alright?"

Tooru shakes his head. "Haha, yeah... I don't know why, but-" He stands up on his feet and finally looks up to meet Hajime's gaze and what the spiker sees is what he was longing for for weeks. "-all of a sudden, I feel invincible."

And Hajime finds his lips curving up when he sees  _the_  smile that seemed completely lost and forgotten back on the his face. He feels something warm making its way inside of him because he's finally back to the way he's always been. His best friend... His  _idiot_ best friend. He's tempted to tell him 'welcome back', but he doesn't really want to ruin the moment by letting him know how much this period managed to affect him as well.

He probably already knows.

But it's better now. For Tooru as well, and that's all that matters. He can finally allow himself to relax, knowing it's going to be just fine from now on.

"By the way, Iwa-chan..." He flinches as Tooru tilts his head to the side with eyes curiously wide and wicked and Hajime know he's going to say something incredibly stupid. "... Is  _dumbass_  the only insult you know?" Hajime narrows his eyes. "How about I make your other nostril bleed too?"

"Please don't!"

Hajime barely holds back a laugh, but a grin escapes him. "Shut up and go to change. It's time to go home." Tooru's smile is still there when he nods. "Wait for me, Iwa-chan."

"I'll be outside. Don't make me wait, you dum-  _idiot_!"

Tooru laughs again as he makes his way to the locker room.

Hajime stands there watching him and when he loses sight of him, he heads to the door, ready to get out. When he opens it though, he finds something he did not expect.

Tobio is sitting on the bottom of the stairs, still wearing his team uniform, facing the entrance with his back.

"You're still here." Hajime says as he approaches him. The boy jolts and turns around, clearly surprised by Hajime's voice. But then he looks away, a sad expression making its way on his face and he instinctively pulls his legs to his chest.

"I'm sorry."

"Huh?"

There's something bothering him. Hajime sits next to him and pays him his full attention.

Tobio wraps his arms around his legs and sighs. "I made Oikawa-san angry..." His voice his quiet, barely audible and it's clear he's blaming himself for the scene from before. Hajime sees through him easily and waves his hand, trying to reassure him.  _He doesn't need to know yet_. "You don't have to worry about that. It's been just a rough period for him."

" _Does he hate me?_ "

Hajime suddenly feels very uncomfortable, all the will of reassuring him slowly staring to leave. "N-no... I wouldn't say that..." He actually  _does_  want to say that, but he figures that if Tooru finds out he told one of his biggest rivals that he's being jealous and impatient because of his talent, he'd probably kill him. But he doesn't feel like lying either. "Well... You have a lot of skill and talent and Oikawa feels a bit uneasy to openly admit that. So I guess he got embarrassed... Kinda..."

Tobio gasps and turns to look at him in disbelief for a brief moment.  _'Oikawa-san... Uneasy about me?'_ He looks away again and starts to fumble with his hands. "Iwaizumi-san, you seem to know a lot about Oikawa-san."

Hajime sighs, a chill running down his spine. "Well... We've been friends since elementary school and we've always been on the same club team."

"Oh, so that's what it was all about." The sad and thoughtful expression returns as he bites his lower lip, goosebumps forming on his skin because of the fresh air.

" _I too want to know more about Oikawa-san."_

Hajime's eyes widen.

Tobio shakes his head at the realization he probably said too much. "Ah, well..." This is getting embarrassing and Hajime is most likely getting the wrong idea of it, so he figures he's supposed to fix it. "That's because Oikawa-san is so skilled and strong... Even if he's a bit scary."

Hajime finds himself sighing in relief, and for a moment, Tobio believes he did fix it. "That's what you meant." he mumbles.

They sit in silence for a while, before Tobio takes in a deep breath.

"I want to  _surpass_  Oikawa-san someday."

Hajime doesn't move for a while and just watches him; he knows what's he's saying and he's serious about it. He can't stop himself from laughing. He's glad. This boy sure has some bold goals, but that's just a part of him and Hajime should know since it's three years he's been trying to reach Wakatoshi with Tooru. 

"I-is that weird?"

He barely registers Tobio's trembling voice when he stands up. He then reaches him and moves his hand to ruffle his hair and smiles. And Tobio thinks it's one of the most beautiful expressions he's ever seen directed towards him. The warmth of the spiker's hand is bound to leave him though, even if secretly he wishes the pleasing feeling lasted longer.

"Well, good luck with that."

He feels blood rushing to his cheeks. "Iwaizumi-san..."

Hajime's bright smile turns into an apologetic one as he turns towards the door, ready to get back in to pick Tooru up. "Please don't torment Oikawa too much." He might admire him and his goal may  have something to do with him, but Tooru doesn't react too well next to him. 

"Eh?"

Tobio doesn't make it in time to ask for explanation that Hajime's already in.

He hears Tooru's loud voice rambling about something and then Hajime's telling him to shut up.

He stands up as well and grabs his belongings.

Maybe it's time for him to go home too.

***

"Is it cold outside, Iwa-chan?"

"I guess it's a bit chilly."

"I'll put on my jacket then."

Hajime snorts. Couldn't he do it before? "Hurry up dumbass, or I'm going to leave you here."

"So mean, Iwa-chan..."

Once again, Hajime feels light, free of every burden or worry when he sees that annoying pout facing him. He jabs him in the ribs and Tooru whines. "Let's go, idiot."

"My place, Iwa-chan!"

"Yeah, yeah... Whatever."

 


	7. Do You Want Me to Stop?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tooru feels something tug in his chest and lets go of him. He then straightens up, still kneeling between Hajime's legs and gives him an intense look. He observes his expression, and doesn't fail to notice uncertainty, nervousness of course and perhaps a little fear.
> 
> "Do you want me to stop, Iwa-chan?"
> 
> Hajime's eyes widen.

After they've taken a shower and eaten their dinner, Tooru insists for them to go to his room, and literally drags Hajime along with him. He runs upstairs and slides the door open and after Hajime's in with him, he closes it and throws himself at him, wrapping his arms around his torso and burying his face in his neck.

Hajime can't deny he's taken aback by the action, but he hugs him back eventually, enjoying the moment of silence while it lasts.

When they pull away from each other, Tooru asks to watch a movie and Hajime accepts, but he doesn't let him choose this time, otherwise it would probably end up with a drama or another alien movie. And he doesn't want any of that tonight.

They end up finding a compromise and choose a thriller, because Hajime wants to watch a horror movie, and that is the exact opposite of what Tooru has in mind – no, Hajime is not going to watch another stupid comedy, _or worse_ , an alien movie.

That may work another day.

Tooru proceeds to find the movie between the CD-s on his shelf and then puts it in his computer while Hajime makes himself comfortable on the futon, being careful to leave enough space for the idiot in front of him as well.

But Tooru opts differently. He lies down on his back, throwing his legs in Hajime's lap, and lets out a long sigh. Hajime gives him an annoyed look, and Tooru pretends he doesn't see it.

Soon enough, Hajime gives up on trying to make him realize he's being heavy – he doesn't want to insist too much, because after all, he doesn't mind one bit – and focuses on the movie on the screen. His hands move on Toooru's right knee, a place they've been laid on quite often recently and Hajime moves them over it in slight caresses without paying much attention.

But Tooru  _does_  pay attention.

He just doesn't mention it yet. Hajime seems quite taken by the movie, so he decides to enjoy it while it lasts as well; after all, an hour and a half are nothing compared to the whole night he's planning to spend with him.

When the film's almost over, Hajime's hands are still there and Tooru is slowly starting to get bored. It's the classic suspense movie where everything that's going to happen is so obvious there is no surprise at all when there should be. He made a wrong choice this time, but he won't admit it out loud; Hajime's still interested in it.

His eyes move to the spiker's face and then on his hands and he unconsciously licks his lips before putting a hand over his. Hajime glances at him, recalled by the sudden contact. "What is it?"

Tooru doesn't answer and instead just sits up, gripping the other's hand a bit tighter and then moving it up his thigh slowly and being careful to hold it there while he shifts and sits on his lap, each leg on a side, straddling him.

He moves his face close to his, so close he feels Hajime's hot breath on his own lips, but he doesn't close the gap just yet.

He wants Hajime to take the initiative since he's been pushed away so many times a couple of days ago. He lets go of his hand and wraps both his arms around his neck, pressing his body against him. "Iwa-chan..."

Hajime looks at where his hand is now and then raises it further to his hip, before smiling slightly and finally meeting Tooru's lips with his.

He still tastes sweet; he always did.

Tooru muffles a slight moan, as he presses himself impossibly closer to him and licks Hajime's bottom lip to have him open his mouth and allow the access. And Hajime does, throwing his head back to let the setter take charge and soon enough he feels his warm tongue exploring every part of his mouth. It becomes wetter and messier, and Tooru finds himself quickening the pace more than he'd like to - he doesn't have enough experience to take it slow (another thing he will never say out loud).

He pulls back when he needs to breathe and looks at his best friend's now swollen lips. And then he kisses him again, this time even more fervently, a hand moving behind the spiker's neck and the other one slips between him and the pillow he's sitting against and lands on his lower back, tugging on his shirt.

Hajime's hands have already made their way underneath Tooru's, and are touching the hot skin of his back, feeling the shape of his spine and Hajime swears it's so hot it's going to melt him; but he doesn't care.

Tooru suddenly pulls away, the need to breathe even more desperate; but he doesn't allow Hajime's gaze to move anywhere but within his.

It's been a while since Hajime's seen  _that_  look in Tooru's eyes; it is different this time - so intense and deep, and he's losing himself in it.

Hajime feels blood rush in his veins, his cock slowly growing hard in his pants as Tooru grinds against him and lets out a low, sensual groan against his lips. And Hajime shifts and, without removing him from his lap, lies down on the futon and drags with him the pillow he was leaned onto with his free hand and puts it under his head.

Tooru knows he's letting him be the one in control right now, because when Hajime puts himself underneath him, it means he's going to let him do whatever he wants, and he'll make sure to take advantage of it.

After all, he's still got to return  _that_ favor from the storage room.

And he's going to do it  _so_  well.

He bends down, his mouth moving on his jaw, kissing and nibbling here and there, leaving a trail of saliva behind before dragging his teeth on the sensitive spot under his ear and earning a moan from the spiker. He smirks and makes his way even lower on his neck and then on his shoulder, pulling the collar of his shirt as much as he can to expose more and more skin, now also leaving slight red marks behind.

"Mmm... Sit up for a second, Iwa-chan."

Hajime reacts immediately and does what he was asked, and Tooru grabs his t-shirt and slides it off his arms and head, throwing it somewhere behind him, his hands immediately making their way on his chest and pushing him back down.

Hajime watches as the setter licks his lips and slides backwards, making sure he brushes against Hajime's crotch on the way, and then leans down, kissing the newly exposed skin and Hajime feels himself growing weaker with every passing second and with Tooru treating his body like this. (How is he so good at this even though they should be on the same page?)

Suddenly Tooru bites hard right underneath his pectoral, over the sensitive skin above his ribs and starts sucking. Hajime finds himself shivering and letting out a moan a bit too loud for his taste and blushes soon afterwords, because when Tooru's done with placing the soon-to-be-very-visible hickey – at least easy to hide – he looks up, his smirk turning into a malicious grin.

Hajime only looks away in embarrassment.

Tooru's  _enjoying_  it.

He kisses and licks the purplish mark before raising up and licking his nipple. He knows Hajime's especially weak in that spot and he also knows he doesn't like when he teases him too much. He sucks on the hardened nub gently and moves a hand to pinch the other one and Hajime hisses, his cheeks turn a darker shade of red, which makes him chuckle in amusement.

He stops before he knows Hajime is going slap him, and buries his face in his abdomen and nuzzles it with his nose before placing kisses everywhere. When he flicks his tongue against his belly button, Hajime's eyes snap back open and he jumps and gasps loudly, moving his head so he's looking down his body to where Tooru is now teasing him in another one of his weak spots, right above the waistband of his pants.

He watches as the setter places his lips on the skin above it, filling it with light kisses. Tooru gives it a thought to leave a kiss mark there as well, but he's growing too impatient, especially now that the bulge in Hajime's pants is so visible and...

And Tooru just wants all those restrains off.

He sits up again, straightening his back and looking at Hajime's flushed face. The spiker isn't looking at him, his head back again and his neck exposed to him and there's nothing Tooru wants more than getting back there and mark him all over... But not now.

His tongue sticks out from the corner of his lips as he intertwines his fingers with the soft fabric before slowly starting to pull it down. Hajime gives him a hand, raising his hips so he can get it to the mid of his thighs and then raising his legs for him to take them off completely and throw them somewhere behind just like his shirt.

His underwear is lowered then, until right above his knees, and Tooru doesn't hesitate to reach out for Hajime's freed cock and can't deny the surprise when he realizes just how hard and leaking he is.

His hand grips him at the base, not wasting any time before starting to pump it slowly, with a firm stroke and every thought Hajime thought he had in mind disappears in just a second as he turns his head on the side to prevent Tooru to see his expression and bites his lip to prevent himself from moaning out loud.

In response, Tooru gradually quickens the pace and he isn't too happy when he notices Hajime biting harshly on his bottom lip to hold back what he wants to hear  _so badly._ He suddenly stops and removes his hand, earning a surprised look from the spiker.

"Iwa-chan..."

Tooru slowly starts to slide his briefs down his legs and when Hajime's finally naked before him, he reaches up to him, giving a wet, open-mouthed kiss on the side of his mouth before pulling back to where he was before. "Don't hold yourself back, Iwa-chan. I want to hear you."

"How can you even say these things with that face?" Hajime's face turns impossibly red now, but he seems willing to comply to Tooru's request as he gives him an almost invisible nod, so the setter gets back to his cock and grips it firmly and moves his hand faster than before. 

He then leans over him and gives the tip a teasing lick, his eyes never leaving Hajime's face. When he hears him moan at the contact, he feels confident and keeps going. He presses his lips against him and lowers his head down to his base and hums when it hits the back of his throat. He then pulls back up, swirling his tongue along the way and stroking him along the base. Hajime doesn't hold himself back this time, just like Tooru told him and the moans he's letting out are so arousing that Tooru is starting to feel his pants turning slightly too tight right now.

He moves his hand up, sliding the thumb over the slit and Hajime let's out a high-pitched noise that has him smirking. He takes him in his mouth again, his tongue working on the underside of his cock and his hand moving down to gently cup his balls and Hajime moves his head so he meets Tooru's eyes. He lets out shallow breaths to calm himself down and prevent himself just to let himself go and thrust in that deliciously wet mouth as hard as he can.

His will seems not to be enough, cause he finds himself unconsciously bucking his hips up to follow Tooru's head and moans again.

Tooru hums around him and bobs his head faster, starting to suck more intensely and grabbing Hajime's hips to hold him down.

Hajime grunts at the action but doesn't say a word about it. He leans back and groans when that familiar feeling starts to grow in the lower part of his stomach.

Tooru seems to realize it, because he takes him out of his mouth and starts to pump him faster. Hajime arches his back, feeling his orgasm approaching him but finds himself groaning once again, this time frustratedly, because Tooru removes his hand just before he reaches his peek and spills himself over him

Huffing, he raises himself up, supporting himself on his elbows.

He sees Tooru standing up from the futon and walking to one of the drawers where he holds his underwear and opens it. Hajime raises an eyebrow when he returns down on the futon, holding a small bottle he recognizes as lube and he can't deny he's a bit confused by it.

All they've ever gotten to have been hand jobs and blow jobs, but even if lots of them happened during this last half of the year, Tooru's never used any lube or even mentioned it was needed.

"What's up with that?"

For the first time he sees a slight blush forming on the setter cheeks as he gives him a small smile. Tooru's never been embarrassed, not even the first time he lowered between his legs to give him head, so Hajime doesn't understand.

He watches as he opens the bottle and pours a bit of it on his fingers.

He then approaches him and grabs one of his legs, ready to push it up to his chest when suddenly Hajime grabs his wrist, blushing furiously. Because he finally  _gets it_.

"I-I don't think this is a good idea."

He's definitely not ready for this.

He stares at the setter, now more nervous than embarrassed.

Tooru feels something tug in his chest and lets go of him. He then straightens up, still kneeling between Hajime's legs and gives him an intense look. He observes his expression, and doesn't fail to notice uncertainty, nervousness of course and perhaps a little fear.

"Do you want me to stop, Iwa-chan?"

Hajime's eyes widen.

Because that look is serious, almost worried and he can't handle it, because it's making him forget how to breathe. And now that he realizes there are things, feelings they still have to experience and that would make him taste more of him, he feels his throat running dry.

He doesn't want to stop.

He doesn't want  _him_  to stop.

He looks away, blushing even more at the thoughts he's having.

" _No._ "

Tooru smiles and reaches out to him, cupping his face and pulling him in the sweetest of kisses and Hajime can't contain his surprise until he pulls away and pushes him down gently and Hajime lets him guide his body down until he's back against his pillow.

Tooru leans over him and gives him another peck on the lips before giving him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Iwa-chan. I'll be _super_ gentle; and if it hurts, just tell me and I'll stop, okay?"

Hajime is unable to speak, so he just gives him a nod, letting out a sigh as Tooru slides down again in a kneeling position. He spreads his legs gently, raising them up and pushing them against his chest and pours a little more lube on his fingers, wanting to be sure there's plenty of it for him to have the easiest access possible.

Because it's the first time after all.

It  _is_ going to hurt.

He reaches his hole and he's surprised he finds himself hesitating for a brief moment, and his eyes wonder to Hajime, who's now holding his head on the pillow and his arms raised next to his head to grip it, his eyes closed and mouth shut tightly as if waiting for the pain to come. When he finally touches him with his moist fingers, he first circles around the entrance before starting to apply pressure.

There is some resistance at first, but eventually he manages to slip the tip of his middle finger in. Hajime gasps at the intrusion – for now more uncomfortable than painful -, biting his lip to prevent noise coming out of him and this time Tooru doesn't tease him about it and instead can't help but keep his eyes fixed on him, trying to figure out if there's any sign for him to stop.

It seems fine for now.

He gradually pushes in, Hajime's inner walls wrap tightly around him and it doesn't take much for Tooru to understand it's going to be a tight fit later on. When he finally gets his whole finger in, he worriedly checks on Hajime, whose body hasn't moved since he laid him down.

"Iwa-"

"K-keep going..."

And Tooru does.

He slowly starts to move his finger, pulling it out until only the tip is still in and then pushing it back in down to the base.

When after a while he starts to feel Hajime's muscles less tense, he stop his movements and presses his index finger next to the one already inside. Just like before, he waits for a couple of seconds before starting to make his way in him.

This time, he notices Hajime's grip tighten on the soft fabric of the pillow, a sign of a pained grimace slowly starting to show up. It feels even tighter now and from the way Hajime's reacting, it even seems uncomfortable but eventually he manages to get it in too.

He moves inside of him gently, making a scissoring motion to loosen him up. Hajime grunts, and he shuts his eyes tighter and Tooru notices it. He doesn't stop what he's doing and instead leans in to place gentle kisses on his neck and with his free hand he grabs the upper part of his cock, pumping it slowly and Hajime moans, his body jerking against the setter's fingers.

Tooru adds the third finger and, despite Hajime's body is now trembling, he doesn't stop this time either. He moves his fingers in a bit faster, trying to spread them as much as he can but being careful not to be too rough.

The way Hajime reacts to his ministrations Tooru finds so hot that he's forced to find and collect all the self-control he can find to resist from throwing himself at him and take him with everything he has. He can be patient. At least he'll enjoy it even more when he gets it.

Hajime's his best friend and he wouldn't forgive himself if he ended up harming him in any way because of the rush.

Tooru pulls away from him, and moves his hand from the spiker's cock to hold one of his legs still. His tongue sticks from the corner of his mouth as he decides to change the pace once again.

This time he thrusts his fingers in at different angles, fingertips pressing against Hajime's insides.

He's letting out shallow breaths once again, trying to hold his body still as Tooru explores him but his eyes widen and he lets out a high-pitched moan when suddenly Tooru brushes against his prostate making a wave of pleasure run up his spine.

_Found it._

Tooru smirks and starts to press slightly against the spot, loving even more the reactions he gets from Hajime. His cock twitches in his pants and he figures he'll need get rid of them soon.

"Ah! O-oika-Ahh!"

Hajime arches his back, instinctively pushing himself against Tooru's hand and the setter can't deny the surprise of how little time it took him to get adjusted to it.

He  _might_  tease him about this.

Just a little bit.

"Does it feel  _good_ , Iwa-chan?"

Hajime's eyes widen, a vein popping on his head as he raises his upper body to smack the idiot in the head, but when he realizes what the sight in front of him looks like, he stiffens. Tooru's cheeks are flushed, a lustful shine visible in his eyes as he watches him like there's nothing more he'd want right now than  _this_. His hand stops in midair and then he lays it down when Tooru slips his fingers out of him and he lets out a breath he doesn't even know he was holding.

"What is it, Iwa-chan?"

He doesn't answer.

Instead, he looks around for the bottle of lube and when he finds it, he grabs it and puts it closer to himself. He then reaches for Tooru and grabs the waistband of his pants, gently pushing it down his body to the middle of his thighs along with his briefs.

Tooru lets out a sigh when his cock's finally freed from the tight restrain and smirks when he sees Hajime staring at it before turning around and grabbing again the bottle and pouring a generous amount of it on his hand.

Tooru raises an eyebrow, but then Hajime moves even closer and wraps his now lube-coated hand around him. He hisses at the contact, because Hajime immediately starts to move his hand in a slow rhythm, twisting his wrist in the process and Tooru throws his head back and lets out a long moan, eyes fluttering close.

Hajime keeps his grip firm and steady, being careful not to hold him too tight, and then reaches out to place a kiss on his chest.

Tooru decides to enjoy his touch for a little more before he knows he won't be able to resist much longer and then grabs his wrists and pulls his hand away from him, giving him a smile. "It's better to stop with this for now." When Hajime nods, Tooru pushes him back down and then removes his pants and briefs all the way, throwing them aside.

Hajime watches him position himself properly between his legs and blushes once more, turning his head to the side and covering his face with his arm.

Tooru sees the action and can't help but chuckle. This side of Hajime is something  _only he_  is going to have the pleasure to see, at least for the time being. "I'm putting it in, Iwa-chan." With that, he makes him raise his legs, leaning them on his shoulders and guides his cock towards Hajime's hole. He presses the tip against it and feels a strong resistance, as if he hadn't prepared him at all.

He slowly pushes in, and immediately Hajime's body jerks, the arm covering his face shaking and the muscles tensing as much as possible, and he lets out a strangled noise.

Tooru bites his lip, but keeps going slowly until he finally manages to fit the head inside. He waits for a couple of seconds, caressing Hajime's thighs gently and helplessly watching him squirm underneath him. He takes a deep breath after half a minute and gives a harder thrust until he's completely inside him, down to the base.

Hajime doesn't hold back this time.

He  _can't_  hold back no matter how much he tries..

He lets out a scream, and slams his arm onto the mattress, clawing the sheets beneath him as Tooru's breath hitches, the warmth around him sending a wave of pleasure through him, making him feel like never before. His insides are so tight and feel so damn good around him, and the pained grimace on his face is the only thing that prevents him to just let himself go and move freely until he's coming undone.

He'd  _never_  do that to him.

Instead he leans over him again and only then, when he's inches away from him, he sees a trace of tears coming down his cheeks. And it pains him to see him like this, so he kisses him gently, moving a hand to wipe them away.

"Relax, Iwa-chan."

Hajime's breathing is shallow, heavy and every part of his body is just screaming at him to push the setter out and away, but the minimal self-control he still has left holds it back.

"It's going to be fine. Just breathe."

Because Tooru is telling him it'll be fine.

The setter wraps his arms around him, still not moving his lower body and waiting for him to adjust to the feeling of having him in, and buries his face in the crook of his neck, placing kisses here and there and whispering reassuring words in his ear.

Finally, Hajime begins to relax as he takes in deep breaths like he was told and soon enough the feeling of fullness loses most of its painful characteristic. Hajime then puts his hand on Tooru's shoulder and presses his lips against his cheek.

"Y-you can move now..."

His words are quiet and the tone of his voice gives out a strain, but Tooru knows that if it weren't okay, he would've told him to stop. That's why it's all it takes for him to start moving his hips in a slow but steady motion and immediately Hajime finds himself moaning loudly.

It feels weird, but it's not painful.

Tooru shifts, now wrapping his arms around Hajime's legs and pulling his hips closer, which allows him to thrust at a better angle. He increases his rhythm gradually, a little bit clumsily because he isn't used to it, and every time his cock brushes against the bundle of nerves he's looking for, Hajime arches his back.

He closes his eyes, gripping the sheets with his hands tightly.  _This_  is starting to feel good.

He feels pre-cum dripping out of his own cock and making his stomach wet, but it's not enough.

"H-harder..."

His own words betray him and come out in a desperate tone without his permission, but he can't even think straight anymore and forgets about it in a couple of seconds, too lost in pleasure. And Tooru complies, ramming his cock in and out of him until Hajime's groaning, feeling the warmth pool back in the lower part of his stomach like before he was interrupted.

But this time it's going to be something completely different.

He watches every part of Tooru's body tensing and feels the grip on his thighs tightening, and it's something he's never seen of him before, even during their  _smaller sessions_  at his house or in the locker rooms. And even though the idea makes him blush furiously, he must admit it's so hot to see him like this that he feels like he could just explode.

Suddenly Tooru leans down again and meets his lips in a sloppy kiss and Hajime finds himself instinctively wrap his arms around him to pull him as close as possible. His cock's brushing between their bodies and the friction, along with Tooru's constant pushing against his sweet spot is drawing him close to his peek.

Tooru seems to understand the situation and slides his hand between them, wrapping it tightly around him and stroking fast; in response he feels his muscles tightening even more around him and groans. Hajime's moans are getting impossibly louder and Tooru can't hold back his own voice either by now, because he's not going to be able to hold back much longer.

With a couple of more thrusts, Hajime's body stiffens and he lets out a long sound, back arching and his cock twitching as he finally reaches his orgasm, his cum spilling out all over his chest and Tooru's hand. Tooru gives another couple of hard thrusts before he dives inside him down to the base as his own cum comes in spurts and fills him up, moans leaving him as well.

The feeling of it has Hajime unconsciously wrap his legs around Tooru's waist as if wanting to let him in as deep as possible and Tooru's eyes open slightly to watch the boy underneath him and satisfactions starts to grow inside him by the second. It's been  _so_  long since he wanted this and now he finally got it.

When fully spent, though still dizzy from the intense orgasm, Tooru straightens up, slowly pulling his now softening cock out of him, and sits back.

His eyes focus on the spiker's body and he swears that of everything he's seen from him, this is the absolute  _best_. Hajime doesn't have the strength to sit up as well, so he just stays down, chest raising up and down to regain his breath.

"If you..."

Tooru flinches.

Hajime swallows, finally breathing normally again.

"If you don't clean me up right now, I swear I'll kick your ass."

Tooru remains silent for a moment before bursting into a laugh. He then stands up and walks to his desk; he grabs the box of tissues he holds there and returns to the futon. He first wipes off the cum from his hands and then both the lube and cum from his cock.

He then gives a peck on Hajime's lips before proceeding to clean his chest, being careful and gentle so Hajime can relax and when he does, he lets out a pleasured sigh and closes his eyes as the setter's hands work their way to dry him up.

"Iwa-chan... Do you want me to clean inside too?"

His eyes snap open and he looks down at Tooru, who's sitting between his legs with his hand rubbing his head nervously. And Hajime sighs, this time in surrender. He raises his legs to his chest, blushing furiously and looking away. "Do it quickly."

Tooru nods and then first wipes out the cum that's already dripping out and then pushes a finger inside of him to drag out the rest too. Hajime's breath hitches, but it doesn't hurt this time.

Tooru does a surprisingly great job and soon enough they're both clean. He throws the used tissues in the trash can and then crawls to pick up their clothes. He opts to put on his briefs and pants only and then hands the shirt and underwear to Hajime. The spiker finds it hard to sit up because of the sore ache coming from the lower part of his body – and there's something telling him that it's going to be much worse in the morning – but he eventually manages to put the briefs on. Then he slides on the shirt and throws himself back down on the soft mattress.

Tooru's next to him the moment after and pulls a blanket over both of them.

When he finds a comfortable position, he moves his arm around Hajime, pulling him closer. Hajime doesn't resist and instead lets himself rest in the warmth of his body. But there's still something on his mind. "Oi..."

"Hmm?"

He looks up and sees Tooru with his eyes closed, but he is listening.

"How did you know the exact things you had to do?" Because it was their first time going all the way after all... And Tooru was too good, much better than he should've been.

"I did my researches, Iwa-chan... Videos, articles and stuff. You know, the usual."

 _Of course,_ Hajime thinks, slapping himself.  _Why did he even ask?_

"You're disgusting."

"Eh?! But it would've been worse if I didn't! Besides, you liked it quite a lot!"

Hajime jabs him in the ribs and he yelps. "Iwa-chan! So mean!"

Hajime decides it's better if he doesn't ask anything else, because he's afraid the answers are going to be even more embarrassing than this one and he's too tired to deal with this shit anyway.

"Do you want to have another bath, Iwa-chan?"

"No."

"Does your butt hurt?"

"Shut up, Shittykawa!"

Tooru chuckles, because Hajime doesn't even have the strength to punch him like he expects him to. Hajime proises himself he'll do it tomorrow, because right now, his eyelids are heavy and even the rest of his body is telling him to get some rest.

Tooru watches him without saying a word and it doesn't take long before he hears soft snores coming from him. He sighs and pulls the blanket up a bit more, so Hajime's fully covered; it leaves him kind of exposed, but it's warm enough inside his room and doesn't make him mind.

His eyes flutter closed without him realizing it, all the tiredness from the stress and yelling – and of course their last activity – is starting to affect him. He doesn't even have the strength to stand up and turn off the light, but that too doesn't matter.

He'll turn them off in the morning.

Right now, he wants to stay the way he is.

He also knows he won't get a reply. But he says it anyway.

"Good night, Iwa-chan..."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is another chapter. I'm at home sick, so I have plenty of time to write, haha.
> 
> Oikawa is a curious kid, so prepare for that side of him - I'm telling you that in advance, so there are no surprises later.
> 
> ***
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thank you in advance for all the Comments, Bookmarks and Kudos!


	8. Constant Rejection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I... Ever since Oikawa-san came back to practice, everyone's been practicing with him a lot. I know he's the main setter of the team, but still... I kind of... want to toss more.” He doesn't mean it to come out in a disappointed tone, but it just goes out of his control and there's no way he can take it back to rephrase it. He looks at Hajime, thinking he'll probably start laughing at him or mocking him for such an idiot thing.
> 
> But he doesn't.
> 
> “You can toss to me.”
> 
> “Huh?”
> 
> “I said you can toss to me. Just ask me whenever you want.”

"Ne, Kindaichi... Have you noticed something different about Oikawa?" Akira asks some days after the match, when he is sure Tooru is far enough not to be able to hear him. The tall boy flinches before focusing on the practice match. "Huh? Well... Now that you mention it, he  _does_  seem different..."

Tooru wraps his arms around his teammates' shoulders.

"Nice course guys!"

There is a smile on his face.

A  _genuine_  one.

"... As if a huge burden was just lifted off his shoulders."

Yūtarō observes his captain as he stands on the court and gives tips here and there to the players around him. He seems to be back to his old self, because it's already been a couple of days since he's been smiling all over the school. The girls are back fawning over him, even more than they were previously, his grades are one of the best ones around the third-year students...

It's all different.  _Better_.

There is a whole new atmosphere even inside the team, with their captain keeping it together like he should have fronm the start.

"Let's do it one more time!"

"Yes!"

***

"Oikawa, get some rest. You've been playing since you got here."

"Yes, coach!"

Tooru waits for his replacement to reach him and then gets out of the court. He heads to the bench and sits on it before leaning on his side to grab a bottle of water from the box one of their managers brought for them. He immediately takes a sip and only then realizes just how thirsty he actually is and empties half of it.

"Here's a towel, Oikawa-san."

His eyes widen and he almost chokes on the liquid. He coughs a few times to clean his throat before he abruptly turns his head to look at the source of the voice.

"Tobio-chan."

The younger setter is standing next to him, handing him a white towel without saying anything and patiently waiting for his hands to take it. Tooru is hesitant, but eventually he reaches for it and quickly wipes the sweat off his face. Then he puts it on the bench next to him and returns his attention to the practice match the others are playing against each other.

There are a couple of mistakes he notices they constantly keep making – nothing that can't be fixed, but he can't help but wonder... How come he didn't notice them earlier?

"Oikawa-san?"

Tobio hasn't moved away from his spot.

"What do you want?"

"Could you teach me how to serve?"

Tooru sighs.

He knew it.

His lips are closed in a thin line for a second, before he shakes his head and pouts. "Don't wanna..."

"But-"

"I said I don't want to!" Tooru stands up and sticks his tongue out and this time Tobio makes a step back. _There it is again._

Ever since Tooru has come back to shine in the gym, he has become extremely friendly and helpful to his teammates, especially to the first-years, however no matter what he does, no matter hos much he tries, Tobio always ends up being pushed away from him, and even though it's been happening a lot these days, he still hasn't managed to find out the reason.

Tooru doesn't talk about it.

The others seem to know, but they pretend they don't when asked.

"Are you picking on Kageyama again, stupid Trashykawa?!"

Tooru turns around to face Hajime, who's approaching them furiously, and points at the younger boy. "I'm not! I'm only doing it because Tobio-chan is being stubborn and doesn't leave me alone!" And then he pouts once again.

A vein pops on Hajime's head. "Aren't you a third year? So act your age when you're dealing with a first-year student!"

Tooru glances at Tobio, who's still got his eyes glued on him and then clicks with his tongue, irritated, before facing Hajime once more. "Why are you talking to me like I'm an older brother who's neglecting his responsibilities?! I'm  _not_  Tobio's older brother!"

Tobio winces at that.

Even thought Tooru is totally right about that statement, Tobio still feels something clench inside his chest and the thought of it comes almost spontaneously, because he wishes he were. He doesn't voice it – he probably never will - and just keeps watching as the two bicker in front of him.

Tooru snorts and then turns his back to both of them, earning a flinch from Tobio and a sharp 'hey!' from Hajime. "This has nothing to do with whether one of us is a first-year or a third-year! He should just watch me and learn from observing." With that, he hurries his way away from them.

"Damn you, Oikawa!"

Hajime wants to run after him, but he figures it's better if he cools down first and when the older setter is gone from his sight, he finally looks Tobio and notices the concerned and perhaps hurt expression plastered on his face and sighs. It's not a surprise he feels that way; after all, that's everything he's been getting lately from the senpai he so admires.

"Don't worry about it."

Tobio's eyes widen. "Eh?"

"That's just the kind of person he is... Childish and immature."

The spiker then approaches him and buries his hand in Tobio's soft, dark hair. "Try not to cling to him too much."  _It's not worth it,_  is what he wants to add, but he doesn't. Because it would be a lie. The disappointed look he receives makes him feel bad, but he's not Tooru and there's nothing he can do about it. Tooru won't listen to him no matter what he says, because his relationship with Tobio is the second thing he'll never  _ever_ agree to change – his fixation with beating Wakatoshi being the first.

More than once he let Hajime know he shouldn't dare to touch those spots.

"Let's get back to practice."

The coach calls all of them to him and orders them to do another set. "Third years against second years! Come on!"

"Yes!"

***

He's feeling it.

There's no way he can ignore it now.

It's piercing into his back, ripping through his muscles and bones, breaking through his spine and even further, to his very core, hisbeating heart. It makes his skin cringe, the small hairs on his arms raise and goosebumps awakej. His is breath hitches in his throat.

It's uncomfortable;  _unwelcome_.

"Stop looking at me like that, Tobio-chan."

Tooru turns around, a pissed expression on his face as he stares at the younger boy sitting on the floor next to the benches, legs pulled to his chest and focused as much as his brain allows it to him.

Bright blue eyes widen slightly as his concentration breaks in pieces and then a confused look makes its way to replace the surprise. He tilts his head to the side, not quite understanding. "Oikawa-san, you told me to watch and learn this way... Don't you remember?"

Tooru snorts. "That was before. It's entirely different now. I get distracted when you look at me."

Tobio bites his lip and stands up slowly, picking up the ball he was holding next to him and hands it to the older setter. "Then will you teach me how to serve now?"

"Don't wanna!" Tooru whines and shakes his head violently.

The ball drops from Tobio's hands and he spreads his arms in resignation.

"Then  _what_  am I supposed to do?!"

"How should  _I_  know?!"

"You idiot! You're doing it again, Oikawa!" Hajime yells at him as he makes his way from the other side of the court to where they are standing. He's fuming with rage and this time it takes everything he hasn't got, to keep himself from hitting Tooru hard enough to make him faint in front of the kid.

Tooru doesn't seem afraid of it though; instead he replies with the same quantity of it. "That's a false accusation, Iwa-chan!"

"Just  _shut up_!"

"What's up with  _you_  taking  _Tobio-chan_ 's side again?!"

"That's real adult-like of you to complain about whose side I'm taking!"

"But I'm a  _middle_  schooler!"

Hajime grits his teeth. He's really not going to give up on it, is he? "Oikawa-"

"Forget it. I'm done with this conversation.  _I'll see you later, Iwa-chan._ " Tooru shrugs, visibly troubled by the conversation, and turns around, running to the opposite side of the field after spotting Yuutarou and Akira and some other third-years, before Hajime gets the time to react. "Oi! Come back!"

He glances at Tobio, who's now looking down, even more dejected than before.

Hajime sighs for the umpteenth time that day.

There isn't much he can tell him about it; Tooru's more nervous when he's around and there's nothing that can be done to avoid it.

Moreover, there's something else. And it's not about Tobio, but about him instead. The look he was getting during the conversation, Tooru's  _voice_  before he left... He glances at the setter on the other side of the field and-

There it is again.

_All of it._

It is burning inside of him, making his body tremble, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks. He doesn't know why, but ever since they've had sex a couple of nights ago, Tooru's been having an even more intense effect on him. Maybe he isn't even doing it on purpose – knowing him, he most likely is -, but Hajime's _falling_. It's making him lose control over himself and he's got no idea of how to take it back.

And his brain doesn't seem to want to cooperate.

Apparently, the first time he let Tooru go all the way with him has started to affect the control he once had over him. He is... Weaker. Against him and all his whims.

"Iwaizumi-san."

He winces, suddenly pulled down to earth. "Y-yes?"

Tobio's staring at him, wide blue eyes fixed in his black. "Are you alright?"

Hajime nods reclutantly. "Yeah. Don't worry about it."

He needs to  _stop_ thinking about it.

Tobio looks back to Tooru, who's not even paying attention to them anymore, and then there's that sad, concerned look once again. "You said he _isn't_  angry at me..."

Hajime freezes, something in his chest starting to hurt.

Tobio doesn't see the grimace on the spiker's face, too preoccupied watching as Tooru talks to Yūtarō. He wants to know if he's doing something wrong, and if he is and nobody tells him what it is, he can't make it better.

All he wants is for Tooru to allow him to get closer.

It isn't much.

He wants to be  _friends_  with him.

And if  _that_ 's too much for him to ask, then he hopes at least for a good relationship between teammates.

Tobio swallows hard before looking at the floor.

"He's not."

"He  _is_."

"I..."

" _Don't lie to me_ , Iwaizumi-san..."

"I'm not."

_He is._

Hajime doesn't like it, but he can't bear to see Tobio like this when there is no direct fault of his for him to gain such a treatment. He pats his shoulder affectionately and gives his best shot to smile. "Let's get back to practice."

Tobio is hesitant at first, but the affectionate gesture somehow manages to reassure him and he eventually nods.

"Okay."

***

Hajime doesn't like lying. But sometimes it's inevitable. And if it helps Tobio to feel at least a bit better, then he's going to do it. It's not like he'll never find out about the whole story behind Tooru's behavior anyway.

***

When Hajime stops with his training session and looks around the gym, his eyes don't spot Tooru.

He thinks he'll find him at his usual spot, practicing on his serves, but he doesn't. Most of the team is already gone to the locker rooms and he, along with Tobio and a couple of other guys are the only ones left.

Hajime sighs and decides it's enough for the day and makes his way to the room too. When he reaches the door, he doesn't even have the time to reach out for the handle, because it opens up slowly and Tooru steps out, already changed and now wearing their school's gym uniform.

Hajime raises his eyebrow. "What are you doing here?"

"I suppose I was changing?"

Hajime doesn't reply to that.

He doesn't believe there is a memory stored inside his brain that contains Tooru finishing a training session  _before_  him; at the same time as him, sure, it happened a couple of times.

But it has never been  _before._

Hajime observes him; his cheeks are slightly flushed - he probably just got out of the shower. How rare. Usually he always finishes so late that he's forced to have it at home and... "Give me ten minutes and I'm coming with you." Before he manages to get an answer, Hajime makes his way past him and goes inside. And Tooru has no choice but to follow him back in and sitting on one of the benches.

Hajime takes off his clothes quickly, remaining only in his underwear, and grabs his towels before heading to the showers.

Tooru watches him until he disappears inside one of the cubicles.

Tobio and the other players come in as well, a couple of minutes after Hajime does, and the first-year boy's eyes widen when he sees the older setter there. Tooru, on the other hand, clicks his tongue in irritation;  _this_  is what he wanted to avoid. He really isn't in the right mood for this.

Tobio puts his bag down next to him and pulls out some clean clothes. He then takes off his shirt and wipes the sweat off himself with the towel he's had with himself during practice. Tooru observes his every move, every part of him, every detail and is glad Tobio doesn't notice.

But Tobio notices.

He doesn't know  _what_  he notices, but he just kind of does.

He avoids speaking about it or asking questions.

His eyes meet Tooru's figure a couple of times though, and every time he finds those brown eyes fixed on him. He wouldn't say it's making him feel uncomfortable, but he feels warmth pooling inside his stomach; it's something else... Something he doesn't know how to name.

By the time he's done changing, Hajime's coming out of the shower room in his underwear only and without thinking about it too much – or realizing - Tobio lets his eyes linger on his for a short while before he finishes zipping up his bag and heads towards the door. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye, Kageyama." Hajime's reply sends him home.

The others leave as well and Tooru and Hajime follow them, not too far away.

When they part ways outside the school gates, Tooru takes the lead towards his house and Hajime follows quietly. The setter seems upset, though it's different from the previous weeks' behavior. That annoying pout is still plastered all over his face and Hajime can't help himself from getting pissed off by it.

He walks faster and reaches out for him, but as soon as his hand comes in contact with Tooru's shoulder, he pulls away from him and turns around with a glare in return. Hajime reaches out again and this time Tooru lets him touch him, even if it's quite obvious he isn't pleased with it. "What is it now?"

"Nothing."

"Oikawa..."

"I just want to go home. I'm tired."

He doesn't add anything else and just resumes walking and Hajime follows.

When they get to Tooru's house, as soon as he shuts the door behind himself, Tooru immediately heads upstairs while Hajime decides to stop by the kitchen to get himself a glass of water. He's been in such a hurry to finish changing himself that he forgot to drink his usual amount of water after practice.

When he empties the glass, he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and then heads upstairs. When he opens the door of Tooru's room, he finds him shirtless in the center of the room, changing into his usual clothes. He puts his bag on the floor, next to his desk and decides to do the same. The gym uniform isn't what he wants to have on for the rest of the evening, so he pulls out a pair of sweatpants and a plain t-shirt and puts them on quickly.

He then makes his way to the futon and sits at his usual place, waiting for Tooru to come join him.

But he doesn't meet his expectations.

Tooru doesn't join him.

Instead, when he finishes, Tooru sits on the floor, at his desk and pulls a couple of notebooks from his bag. He then opens them and grabs a pen, his other hand placing itself on his right leg, right above his knee. Hajime notices that, even because he's been staring at him ever since he closed the door of the room.

Tooru's action doesn't mean anything.

Though it's easy to misunderstand.

Hajime stands up from the mattress and gets next to the setter, making himself comfortable before moving his hand towards him. "Let me."

Tooru snaps out of his thoughts as soon as the words leave his mouth and Hajime knows he barely refrains himself from replying something harsh to him, because he opens his mouth and then closes it; after that, he takes a deep breath and then empties his lungs before he speaks in a calm tone. "I don't need it..."

"Don't act like a kid and let me."

Tooru huffs and, not wanting to argue about the stupid knee, lets him do what he wants – even if it really isn't needed.

Hajime's touch has gotten better, more precise and it gets to all the right spots, but Tooru doesn't tell him that. He proceeds to write down some notes instead and then pulls out a Maths book as well.

"Homework? Seriously?"

Tooru pouts. "I have to do it sooner or later."

"Out of your own free will?"

"Oh, so now I can't even do my homework?"

Tooru mentally slaps himself. This definitely came out harsher than it was intended.

Hajime's hand stops moving but he keeps a firm grip on him anyway. "Oikawa."

"Nothing's wrong, mommy-chan."

Hajime clicks his tongue and moves his hand from Tooru's leg to his chin and forces him to turn his head to the side to face him. "I'm not your mother. I'm your  _friend_  and I know damn well when something's up that head of yours. You've been acting more bratty than you usually do."

Tooru meets his eyes.

"So spit it out: what the hell is your goddamn problem?!"

Hearing the rough question, Tooru immediately gives up on his mental encouragement to keep his cool, and immediately slaps his hand away and pulls back. "You want me to spit it out?" He slowly stands up on his feet and looks down at the spiker, his anger now emerging to the surface after so long.

" _YOU_  are my goddamn problem!"

Hajime raises an eyebrow.

Now,  _this_  answer is  _not_  what he expected. "Huh?"

"You heard me."

Hajime takes in a deep breath, hoping it's going to be enough to calm him down and then stands up. It doesn't work. "How can  _I_  possibly be your problem this time?!" He takes a step towards the setter and glares at him. When Tooru doesn't answer, he tells it to go to hell. "Answer me! Now!"

Tooru's answer is just as harsh. "Because I'm sick of it, Iwa-chan!"

Hajime rolls his eyes, the vague answer only helping his irritation to grow more and more. "What kind of answer is that? You are sick of  _what_?!"

Tooru grits his teeth; he just doesn't get it, does he? "I'm sick of you spending time  _with that fucking brat_!"

Hajime's eyes widen.

"All those practices with  _him_  instead of  _me_ , all those times you're on  _his_  side and not on  _mine_... You're acting like  _he_ is your fucking setter and not  _me_!" The last words are screamed louder than he means to, but Tooru can't hold himself back now that all the jealousy he's holding in finally explodes and comes out of him. He observes as realization dawns upon Hajime, his eyes still staring at him in disbelief and Tooru finds himself chuckling. It's odd; he can't believe Hajime actually  _didn't_  realize it. He was hoping it was just some pretending not to notice to avoid worsening the situation between them, but he  _really_  didn't-

"Are you kidding me?"

"Huh?"

"Stupid,  _idiot,_ Trashykawa, are you  _fucking_ kidding me?!"

Hajime's voice is shaking with anger and he's approaching him, but Tooru isn't afraid of him. He's never been. Since they already started with this, they might as well finish and go back to their normal chatting and messing around. Tooru feels his blood rush through his veins. How can Hajime even think he's joking?

"Are you actually telling me that this shitty attitude of yours is because of something so stupid? I can't believe you're actually jealous because I spend some time with Kageyama!"

"Don't minimize it, Iwa-chan!"

Hajime grits his teeth and approaches him, throwing a punch to the wall, too close for Tooru's taste to his own head. But he can tell Hajime's not joking and if he didn't hit him, it's only because he isn't done talking.

And he is right.

"It really feels like I'm talking to a little boy whose favorite toy has just been taken away. I thought you were exaggerating before because you're such a trash, but really? I take Kageyama's side?! Just... How old are you? He _is_  a kid and you are even worse, because you  _act_  like one with your constant picking on him!"

Tooru grits his teeth.

He doesn't like this. At all.

"I'm not a kid! And you are not taking me seriously here!" Even though he tries, really tries to make him understand, Hajime ends up letting out a laugh. "How can I possibly take you seriously?! This discussion doesn't make any sense!"

That is it; Tooru lets out a frustrated groan, burying his hands in his brown locks and agitating his body more than needed. "Oh. My. God. Iwa-chan, you really are dumb, aren't you?!"

Hajime sighs heavily, but he fails to hide the confusion from his face. "Dumb? Me? Let's hear it then, what is it that I don't understand?!"

Tooru's eyes widen and then he decides. He exhales heavily and returns to his seat. “ _It doesn't matter._ ”

Hajime blinks. “What?!”

“Go away, Iwa-chan. I'll see you tomorrow.”

Hajime walks next to him, stands over him, but Tooru doesn't look at him, and instead resumes his homework, writing slowly on purpose.

Hajime sits next to him, watches his hand moving. He opens his mouth, but nothing comes out, and Tooru doesn't bother to pull those words out by force.

Ten minutes later, Hajime stands up and leaves the room, a quiet “Goodnight, Oikawa,” slips through his lips after all, even when there is no reply to return it.

***

“I'm not gonna teach you!”

“Oikawa-san, please!”

“NO!”

“Stop it, you idiot! Don't pick on him!”

Hajime's starting to find this annoying. Even more than he did until now. It keeps going on every day and he's growing tired of always having to stand between them to hold Tooru back from the first-year.

He never blames Tobio though; he just wants to learn and he wants to do it from the best and everyone who could blame him because of this would be a total fool who understands nothing of it.

Apparently Hajime isn't one, since he just can't bring himself to.

“Kageyama, please... Leave us alone for a second.”

Tobio frowns and then looks away. It's clear he's not glad about this, but in the end he forces out a nod and excuses himself. Tooru looks at him leaving, but it doesn't last long as Hajime places himself in front of him with his arms crossed over his chest. “Oikawa.”

Tooru pouts and turns away before he even has the chance to say anything.

“Don't ignore me.”

“I'm not.”

“You are.”

“Hmph.”

Hajime grabs his arm and pulls him aside, next to the benches, where no one's going to bother them. Tooru doesn't whine to avoid unnecessary attention and then stands still, waiting for Hajime to scold him so he can leave and keep going with his practice.

“You can't go on like this. It's troublesome.”

Tooru rolls his eyes.

“Just stop it. Why are you treating him like this?!”

“Because he keeps bothering me, Iwa-chan!  _He_  is the one starting it  _every single time_  and yet, you always get mad at  _me_! Not fair!” Hajime grunts when he sees him acting like this, because it's always this way and there's no way he'll ever be able to have a normal conversation with him about Tobio if this keeps up.

“You don't have to overreact.”

“But Iwa-chan, I-”

“You  _must not_ overreact. No buts. Just give him some advice or something and he'll leave you alone.”

Tooru shakes his head, his hands clenching into fists. “Not gonna do that! All he wants from me is my serve and he is not going to get it! Never ever, EVER! - until I'm dead and buried and gone forever-”

A vein pops on Hajime's head and by now he's already struggling to hold back and not punch him in that pretty face of his. “Shittykawa, y-”

“ _You can't force me_.”

Hajime flinches. Tooru's tone isn't the usual whiny, high-pitched tone he's used to hear when he's complaining about stupid shit, it is the one he uses when he's dead serious and absolutely not available for a change of heart. It is a surprise for Hajime when he hears it and the reason is the fact that it's only rarely been directed at him.

And he loses everything he had in mind to tell him, feeling a sudden weakness in his legs.

“If we're done here, I'm getting back to practice, Iwa-chan.”

“I-”

Hajime opens his mouth but nothing comes out, so he sighs heavily and waves his hand, making him free to go. And he does, walks away slowly and stops in the middle of the court, looking around at the other members of the club and his gaze focuses on Yūtarō and Akira, who are practicing spikes and blocks.

He approaches them with a small smile.

“Kunimi, you should put more strength into that.”

The black-haired boy flinches as his name is called and his eyes widen slightly when he sees Tooru approaching him. “Let me help you. Kindaichi, you can stay too. I could use some of your blocks.”

“Ah! Umm... Sure.”

Tooru motions him to hand him the ball and then explains what he has in mind.

Tobio watches the scene from afar, the frown from before is still on his face, but he doesn't go closer to them. He doesn't want to be yelled at by Tooru again, so he decides he'll try again another time.

He watches as Tooru eagerly gives advice to every single person in the gym, so he can't help but think of it. Why is he the only one he constantly pushes away and reacts harshly to everything he asks him? Until a couple of days ago, Tobio thought he had some kins of grudge against the first-years, but now he sees he was wrong.

Everyone always goes to him whenever there's any kind of trouble going on in their head, but for some unknown reason, Tobio isn't graced with that privilege.

There  _is_  something going on. He  _knows._

He just doesn't  _understand._

All those glares, provocations and demands to leave him alone must have something behind. It got worse after that substitution during the practice match, and Hajime also told him he's jealous of his abilities, but he doesn't get  _why._  He's so strong and skilled, so why should he feel menaced by him?

He swallows hard, eyes moving away from him and going to the floor and his grip on the ball in his hands tightens.

All he wants is to be friends with him, wants to know him better, so why doesn't he let him?

“Alright everyone!”

The coach suddenly walks in, a pleased smile on his face.

Everyone stops what they're doing and give him their attention. “Since you've been doing a good job lately, I'll let you finish earlier today.” He laughs slightly when most of the players thank him and cheer on him.

“Let's get an ice cream. Kageyama!” he calls him and Tobio's eyes widen. “Can you go and get it?” He approaches him and hands him a wallet he recognizes as the club's. “You have everything you need in here; you can go to the convenience store close behind the corner. Can you manage that?”

Tobio can't deny he's a bit taken by surprise, since he's never been assigned something of the sort – he's kind of worried about having to bring here all the bags by himself - but he eventually says yes. “Um, I-”

“Coach! I'll go with him.”

Blue eyes widen and he turns around.

“Iwaizumi? Yeah, sure. Give him a hand.”

Tobio watches as he approaches him and stops a couple of steps away. And once again, he gives him that smile of his, as if truly pleased to make him some company. He doesn't complain; he doesn't even add anything to that request. He just nods and lets him lead him to the locker rooms.

There, they grab their jackets before heading out and when they do, Hajime makes sure to walk slowly, next to him.

Tobio tries not to look on his side too much, after all he doesn't want to stare and seem creepy, but Hajime doesn't seem to mind, because even when he caught his eyes on him – twice -, he didn't say a word about it.

And Tobio doesn't fail to realize he's nothing like Tooru. If possible, they are the exact opposites, so how come they seem to be so bound to each other? Tooru listens to him and Hajime respects him; and Tobio can't help but wonder where the link is and what it looks like.

“So, Kageyama...”

Hajime's kind voice pulls him down to earth and this time he turns his head to look at him, paying him full attention. “Yes, Iwaizumi-san?”

“Are you getting used to the training menus?”

Tobio can't help but raise an eyebrow at the sudden question. “Well, yeah... They are quite harder than they were in elementary school, but I don't mind. Actually... I really like it.”

Hajime's lips curve up once again. “Ah, do you?”

“Yeah.”

The convenience store is closer than he expected – he does live close by, but he never really went around this zone nor looked too much at his surroundings, so he isn't capable of a proper orientation -, and they come to a stop with their conversation when they go in. Hajime leads him to the fridges and they pick the ice cream they want for the team to have.

Then they go to the cash register and pay for it before going out. Being the evening, but still before the work ending hours there aren't many people in front of them,so they get out fairly quick.

“Let me take those.”

Hajime's tone is once again calm and kind as he approaches him to take two of the three bags Tobio's holding to add them to the two he already has. Tobio's about to refuse. “No, Iwaizumi-san... I can-”

“Let me take them. You're a setter; you have to take care of your hands.”

And that's it.

Tobio can't control himself this time. He feels his face getting hotter and his cheeks are most likely painted of a light pink color by now. He observes Hajime's face and then just lets him take those bags and mumbles a quiet thank you before they start walking again.

“Iwaizumi-san.”

After minutes of silence, he finally gets his ability to speak back.

“Hmm?”

“You asked me about practice earlier... And, well, there is something.”

Hajime glances at him worriedly.  _Could it be Oikawa?_ He wouldn't be surprised, but he doesn't want to jump to conclusions before he hears him out.

“I... Ever since Oikawa-san came back to practice, everyone's been practicing with him a lot. I know he's the main setter of the team, but still... I kind of... want to toss more.” He doesn't mean it to come out in a disappointed tone, but it just goes out of his control and there's no way he can take it back to rephrase it. He looks at Hajime, thinking he'll probably start laughing at him or mocking him for such an idiot thing.

But he doesn't.

“You can toss to me.”

“Huh?”

“I said you can toss to me. Just ask me whenever you want.”

Tobio isn't an expert in relationships with other people; he always preferred to isolate himself and just concentrate on volleyball; the downside of it is that now he isn't able to read people. At all. But somehow, he knows he can trust Hajime on that, even if the question he asks comes on its own.

“Won't Oikawa-san get angry if I ask you all the time?”

Hajime's eyes widen.

So that's why he didn't say anything until now. His legs come to a stop and he puts the bags down on the ground. Tobio does the same and Hajime takes his time to look at every detail of his expression. “He's really hurting you with that behavior of his, isn't he?”

Tobio doesn't reply to that and it's enough for Hajime to know.

“You really care that much about what he thinks...”

Tobio whimpers, shaky hands clenching into fists as he remembers the scene with him and the others. “I... I don't understand.” He swallows; he's not sure if he should keep going, but Hajime is in front of him, staring and waiting for him to just speak and tell him what's bothering him and he's getting sick of always having to keep it in. “He's so kind to the others; he helps them, gives them advice, trains with them... With  _all of them_. And yet, he doesn't even give me a glance unless I go to him. And in the end, when I do just that, he always gets angry.”

His eyes meet Hajime's and Tobio hopes with all his might he isn't looking as if he were about to cry.

“Where do I go wrong?”

Hajime listens to him till the end and his expression only gets from an already pitiful one to a more pitiful one. Seeing Tobio almost shaking because of something that could easily be avoided makes something in his chest tug and it's different from when Tooru was having his dark period, but he feels it nonetheless.

He takes a step forward and reaches his hand out, burying it in the soft dark locks of the boy. He observes as his eyes widen, a confused expression making its way on his face. And in response he smiles again, hoping to reassure him and caresses him until he seems to be calm again. “Don't worry about him. I'm sure he'll understand how much you want to get closer to him; so be patient. He'll let you reach out to him when the time is right.”

Tobio takes some time to process what's said to him, but when he does, a small trace of a smile graces his features too, and it is then that Hajime lets go of him and bends down to grab the almost forgotten bags next to his feet. “And if he dares to tell you anything about me practicing with you, I'll kick his ass.”

Tobio laughs at it.

But he appreciates it.

He really does.

“Iwaizumi-san... Let's get going before everything melts.”

“Yeah.”

They chat about unimportant things the rest of the way - practice and school matters - and when they get back to the gym, the coach greets them and calls the others. “Good job guys. I'll be leaving now; don't forget to clean up before you leave!”

“Yes coach!”

Hajime opens the first bag and starts handing the goods to everyone and his eyes catches Tobio rummage in the only bag he has and pull out two ice creams. He then puts it next to Hajime's legs. “Please take care of this one too, Iwaizumi-san.”

“Wait! Where are you-”

He doesn't finish his sentence, because Tobio's already far away from him.

The young boy runs to the other side of the gym, finding Tooru in the furthest corner, practicing on his serve. The older setter immediately stops when he sees him approaching and glares at him. “Tobio-chan... I already told you: I'm not going-”

“Here's your ice cream, Oikawa-san.”

He hands it to him and holds it in front of himself until Tooru hesitantly reaches out to him and takes it. Tooru observes it for a moment, and then his eyes move to Tobio, who's looking at him with wide eyes and a blank expression which is later replaced with a smile.

Brown eyes move to his hand. “You should eat yours. It's kinda hot in here; you don't want it to melt now, do you?”

Tobio shakes his head. “The same goes for you.” That said, he starts to unwrap his own, slowly and carefully and Tooru just follows his movements wordlessly; his hands are what he envies him. They are going to cause him so much trouble one day; but it's still yet to come. Maybe for tonight, he let go of his grudges, just a little bit.

“Thank you.”

Tobio's head raises almost violently and Tooru wonders if he hurt his neck with that - it'd be amusing if he did, but he seems alright; his eyes are impossibly wider, as if not believing his own ears; his mouth opens slightly and a small blush taints his cheeks and Tooru can't help but chuckle. He got all flustered for such a small thing.

“You're cute, Tobio-chan.”

“Huh?”

“Oi, idiot. What's up with you?”

Hajime barges in before Tobio has the time to turn a darker shade of red, and stands between them, looking suspiciously at the third-year. “Nothing, Iwa-chan. I was just telling Tobio-chan how cute he is for bringing me an ice cream. He's not mean like you to forget about me.”

“Shut up, Assikawa. Or I'll shove that ice cream down your throat and, hopefully, choke you with it.”

Tooru makes a hurt face, his free hand grabbing his shirt right above his heart. “You're so mean to me, Iwa-chan.”

Hajime rolls his eyes and then hands Tobio an empty bag. “Put your trash in here, so I don't have to pick it up all around the gym later. Kindaichi is taking care of the rest.” Tobio nods and puts the ripped paper inside before looking once more at Tooru.

He finds his eyes on him and doesn't know if he should get more confused by it or not.

Then he raises his arm and his hand moves slowly towards him and Tobio's body freezes. Is he going to hit him?

“Oikawa!”

He shuts his eyes tightly.

And when he feels his hair being ruffled gently, he peeks through one eye and sees Tooru standing in front of him, his lips curved up slightly as he observes his reaction.

Hajime keeps an eye on him and Tobio feels safe.

It doesn't last long; he wishes it was much,  _much_  longer.

He liked it.

He stands still until Tooru pulls away.

 


End file.
